Apr 15, 2020 | News
Since March 13, Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) has worked with more than 100 statewide partners to provide emergency preparedness materials and healthy food source locations to partners and the public in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESMMSC has been working with organizations such as local school districts, farmers, food pantries and community coalitions, SC Department of Education, SC DHEC, SC Farmers Market Association, Carolina Farm Steward Association, senior services, SC Hospital Association, SC Office of Rural Health, Healthy Learners, Food Research and Action Council, and SC Food Policy Council to identify needs, available services, capacity, and connect partners who normally would not work together.
“As a result of the food insecurity partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, gaps in food distribution services that include staffing, equipment, transportation, physical distribution, public-private partnerships, and planning have been identified,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at ESMMSC. “As food insecurity needs increase, convening and connecting continues with all levels of consideration being presented.”
Part of the solution to the food insecurity issue is the Food Insecurity Resources webpage, which contains funding opportunities, guidelines, food system support, food insecurity data, and low- or no-cost healthy food sources for communities and organizations across the state. Since the webpage went live on March 20, ESMMSC has experienced an increasing amount of traffic to the website. Nearly 6,000 people from across the country have visited the page with 1,588 people clicking on the various links on the page.
“While we are thrilled the webpage is valued by partners and organizations, it is not the end-all of our work related to this crisis. We are assisting other organizations by addressing food delivery barriers and we’re seeking new funding to support community-level organizations with sourcing healthy food,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at ESMMSC. “We also continue to update the webpage daily with new and updated information, including information in Spanish.”
ESMMSC worked with Healthy Learners and SC PASOS to translate a portion of the page into Spanish. The Local Activity section, as well as the SC Food Banks and Farmers Markets spreadsheet located under Statewide Activity, will help the Latinx community find local healthy food.
“Our Latinx community is just as important as any other group. They make up a large part of the food insecure population,” said Stanley. “Because ESMMSC has a strategic focus on equity and inclusion, we felt it was imperative to provide a Spanish translation.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on emergency preparedness within organizations and the importance of partnerships in addressing food insecurity during this time of crisis. Luckily, ESMMSC has a strong network of partners who have been working tirelessly to ensure South Carolinians have access to healthy food and organizations have access to best practices.
Mar 20, 2020 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, Impact, News
A youth group at Pine Grove AME Church are trying to do something about the health of their community by implementing health policies and educating the congregation on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Through a partnership between Eat Smart Move More South Carolina and the 7th District AME Church, nine teens and pre-teens involved in Pine Grove’s Young People Division (YPD) had a chance to participate in The HYPE Project and learn about policy, system, and environmental change and the positive impact they can have on their community.
“I just let them take charge,” says Miranda Blocker, Pine Grove AME Church YPD Director and HYPE Team Adult Advisor. “They created the plan and did all of the work. They really did.”
Two senior members of the HYPE team – Alex Blocker (17) and Sabrina Bowman (18) – took the lead on creating an action plan by researching and developing key focus areas. Healthy eating and active living policies within the church and a church garden were agreed upon by the HYPE team.
“We modeled it after some other plans that we saw and made it off of the needs that we could do,” said Alex. “We tried to be realistic, but also optimistic in how we could do it.”
Once the HYPE team completed the action plan, it was a matter of getting it up the chain of command, so to speak. Ultimately, the elders and the pastor approved the plan and cleared the path to healthy change.
“I’ve been around here for a long time. I do a lot with the children. If the children present something, the church is going to support them 100 percent,” said Miranda.
Healthy Eating and Active Living Policies
The Pine Grove HYPE Team wanted to ensure meals and snacks being served at all church-hosted events would be healthy choices, and only water would be served in the fellowship hall. The group also wanted a 5-minute physical activity break incorporated into Bible Study, Sunday School, church meetings, and the afterschool program. The youth successfully advocated for all these healthy policy changes.
According to the HYPE team, there wasn’t a lot of pushback. “We had people ask for sweet tea, but we stood by our water policy,” said Eric Gamble, Jr. (17).
“The policy itself was easy. Some of it was simple. Like during a meeting, stop right there and do 5 minutes of cardio. That’s easy for them to do,” said Alex. “But, when it comes to just serving water at an event, now you’re interfering with someone’s committee. But it all worked out. Everything in the policy got approved, and I don’t think we had to actually change anything. So, they were pretty open to it.”
All the policies also apply to the afterschool program. Kids are encouraged to go outside and play. The church provides access to jump ropes, balls, and green spaces.
“We look forward to going outside, being ourselves, and going outside to play with each other,” said Elise Gamble (11).
Church Garden
It’s a small church garden, but it’s the start of something big and it’s full of purpose. With the help of a congregation member with experience in gardening, the HYPE team created a garden out of plastic barrels cut to the size of planters, which saved a lot of time with removing grass and cultivating the soil.
“We saw it was something the church could do and that we could rent to other places. It just made sense to be sustainable and grow healthy food. That way you’re not only learning new things but you’re also eating it,” said Alex.
“When we started this, the kids were green. That’s something people don’t do anymore. They don’t have gardens,” said Miranda. “What would’ve taken us 15 minutes to plant seeds, it took us two hours. Our instructor who was teaching us was very meticulous. What was most exciting was when people would come to church and see it grow.”
The garden is in a green space near the entrance to the church, so as congregants arrived, it piqued their interest. According to Miranda, they were very curious about the garden and asked, ‘What are you going to give to us,’ ‘When can we eat some,’ ‘Who is this for,’ or ‘I’m going to pick those greens.’
Again, Miranda let the youth do all the work and take care of the garden. The church hosts an afterschool program, so the kids were responsible for watering the garden twice a week. They even created some creative signs for the plants, like Bushy Broccoli and Cool Collards.
“The kids enjoy it. The kids are always ready to mess in the garden and go outside and play. The grown-ups, they enjoy it too. They like that their kids are liking to go outside, are moving more, and not staying inside playing games and being in front of a screen,” said Eric.
The Future
The Pine Grove HYPE Team plans to continue their garden with the next planting in Spring 2020. They’ll plant a variety of vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc. They eventually want to increase the amount of food they produce and give it to the senior members of their church and ultimately, to the community.
As far as physical activity goes, they’re planning on building a basketball court that can be used for other youth activities like dodgeball or kickball. They’re also planning on creating a walking path in the adjacent parking lot.
“I think all of the outside field activities can be for the community. If they come consistently, the parents might see there’s a church and could be interested in attending,” said Alex.
The HYPE Project has taught youth the importance of being involved in their community and helping others. It’s also taught them some personal lessons. When they first heard about The HYPE Project, they weren’t sure what they were getting themselves into. They said they never intentionally thought about eating healthy, but now they do.
When asked what they think about The HYPE Project after creating an action plan, working with leadership, and implementing the changes, they all agreed that it has been a positive experience.
“It’s great. I’m not just saying it because they gave us money. That’s also good. But everything we’ve talked about as far as helping the kids, helping the adults. It’s definitely something that more communities need. I think we all love it. The kids love it,” said Eric.
Elise said, “I wouldn’t want to change it because everyone’s working together to make it happen.”
“I think it’s a big impact. When we first thought about it, we really didn’t know what it was,” said Amari Rogers (16). “It really helped us grow. It helped me focus more on what I eat and making healthy choices.”
Alex said, “I had to talk to people to get the HYPE Project passed and working to create a policy. It might not be the same in terms of politics, but the process of creating it was still the same. That definitely helped me in other areas, and then again, just the people skills, the social skills in working with Eric on creating the video and talking to everyone else. So, everything kind of went hand in hand preparing me for other things.”
Jun 6, 2019 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
By SHAKORA BAMBERG T&D Correspondent
Growing Calhoun, Orangeburg, Bamberg believes in tomorrow and is on a mission to improve the health of the community, low-income households and schools through access to sustainable gardens, fresh food and education.
Growing COB was founded in December 2017 when End Child Hunger, a group out of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, reached out to leaders in the community to start an Orangeburg chapter. Discussions showed there was an interest in starting a community garden. After meeting for a few months and bringing on new members, the group decided to expand its outreach to Calhoun and Bamberg counties.
One of the group’s projects is the Orangeburg County Community Garden located at South Carolina State University, which opened on Oct. 13, 2018. Every Wednesday, organizers give away free produce from the garden to community members. Jamison’s Pharmacy in Orangeburg serves as the food hub, and hundreds of people show up to get fresh, local produce.
“We started the garden when we were awarded funds from Eat Smart Move More South Carolina from their Let’s Go 3.0 grant in August 2018. We were able to receive funds to start the garden through the Tri-County Health Network and the Regional Medical Center, our fiscal agents,” a press release from Growing COB states.
The staff of Orangeburg County has supported Growing COB through the donation of multiple compost bins and additional resources.
Those who’d like to volunteer in the community garden can sign up at the following link: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/70a094daaaf28a6ff2-winter
The organization to date has been fortunate to partner with the following:
- Bamberg County Community Rural Art Works League
- Caring Always Matters Foundation
- Clemson Extension
- Eat Smart Move More SC
- Jamison’s Pharmacy
- Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
- Orangeburg County
- Orangeburg County Library, Orangeburg Branch
- Orangeburg County Soil & Water Conservation District
- South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
- South Carolina State University, Department of Biological & Physical Sciences, Environmental Action Group
- Small Business Development Center
- Southeastern Housing & Community Development
- Regional Medical Center
- Tri-County Health Network
- USC Arnold School of Public Health
In the past, Growing COB partnered with the Smart Box Food Pantry and Amazing Grace Ministries to distribute water in Denmark. They’ve also held spaghetti dinner fundraisers to help sustain the garden.
To keep up with the organization’s activities, follow Growing COB on Facebook.
To learn more about Growing Calhoun, Orangeburg, Bamberg, visit the website: https://growingcob.wixsite.com/scfoodaccess.
Members of the organization meet monthly at various locations in Calhoun, Orangeburg and Bamberg counties. Those who would like to attend the meetings are asked to email GrowingCOB@gmail.com.
Feb 18, 2019 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, News
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) is partnering
with the 7th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
to teach teens about the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project and to
help guide them through a public health project that focuses on healthy eating
and/or active living in their churches or communities. Up to ten HYPE teams from
the AME’s Young People’s Division (YPD) programs around the state will be
selected to receive up to $1,000 each to implement their project.
“Providing our youth with opportunities to form leadership
skills and to then use those skills throughout life to better their church and
communities is what our YPD is all about,” said Dr. Ila McFadden, YPD Director
at the 7th Episcopal District of the AME Church. “The HYPE Project will
influence our youth to become leaders in public health and to consider health
equity as being just as important as all other inequities in life.”
Currently, African-Americans experience disparities in
access to healthy and affordable foods and safe places for physical activity,
which are key factors in reducing obesity. To help rectify such disparities, selected
HYPE teams will help their churches and communities by completing projects,
such as community gardens, advocating for healthy eating and/or active living
policies with their church, disability and inclusion for physical activity
spaces, and healthy concessions/vending.
“The faith community has a long history of meeting the needs
of their congregations and local communities, and this is especially true for
African-American churches,” said Trimease K. Carter, Manager of Youth
Engagement at ESMMSC. “This means the AME church will have an even larger
impact on health equity and youth development.”
The 7th District covers all of South Carolina with close to 675
churches and 556 YDP organizations. The YPD program reaches more than 6,600 youth in South Carolina. Their focus it to provide meaningful
youth training programs and opportunities for leadership experience in all
areas of church life, as well as to advocate for the integrity of childhood and
the dignity of all children and youth in the religious, civic, and political
structure.
“Our partnership with the AME Church seems like a natural fit
because we both have missions that address increasing opportunities for those
in need in our communities. We’re looking forward to working with these youth
and forging a great partnership with the 7th Episcopal District of the AME
Church,” said Carter.
Once the HYPE teams are selected, ESMMSC will provide the
HYPE curriculum training at the YPD Retreat on March 8 in Columbia. Afterwards,
the teams will return home and begin the process of choosing their project,
working with church and community leaders, and implementing their plans.
For more information about the AME partnership, visit our youth engagement page.
Jul 18, 2018 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
By Laura McKenzie
The People-Sentinel
Talyah Washington, 6, and King Rivera, 7, may not have understood what the blue ribbon was for to officially open an “all-inclusive” playground last week. They just wanted to have fun.
They also may not have realized that the person who was the instigator for the playground is an 8-year-old little girl with big dreams.
Talyah was born with Down Syndrome. King suffered a traumatic brain injury four years ago in a car accident. Despite cognitive and motor skill challenges, both are children who love to play.
The playground located at Lemon Park in Barnwell started with a question raised by Izzy Brandt to her parents, Stephanie and Shaun Brandt. “I took her to a Buddy Walk about two years ago. It’s a fundraising walk for kids with special needs,” Stephanie said. That experience made an impression on young Izzy who also has made friends with one special needs child.
Then, one day about a year ago they were at Lemon Park and Izzy noted that there wasn’t any playground equipment for kids with special needs. “They want to play too,” she told her mom.
Izzy and Stephanie contacted Pam Davis, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Barnwell. Davis thought about the idea and decided to write a grant proposal to the S.C. Parks and Recreation Department (PARD).
She was notified that a grant for $12,000 was approved “but that was not enough for this type of playground.”
Axis 1 came to the rescue with a $10,000 grant through the Eat Smart, Move More Program.
The partnership resulted in the purchase and installation of a multi-level climber, “Cozy Cocoon”, seesaw, congos, and cabassa.
“The multi-level climber is where kids of all abilities can play,” explained Davis. “It helps improve motor skills, coordination, strength, and dexterity. This leads to self-achievement and greater self-esteem.”
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