Healthier Lyon County believes it’s close to getting approval for a food policy council.
Food access became a focal point for the community group, especially after gaining a Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways grant to limit food insecurities. On KVOE’s Newsmaker segemnt Wednesday, Teresa Briggs said there are food deserts in Emporia and Lyon County, so there is a need for increased access to food.
The food policy council will serve in an advisory role if both the Emporia City and Lyon County Commission approve. Grant manager Daphne Mertens says the food council will also dovetail with Healthier Lyon County’s ongoing work on safe routes to food sources.
2018 was busy for the group in other ways. Healthier Lyon County began its monthly “Walk with a Doc” series, where walkers could have health questions answered by a local physician or medical expert. It also worked to install a crosswalk at Maynard Early Childhood Center, thanks to a Governor’s Council on Fitness grant. And at the start of last year, it saw the culmination of efforts to make Emporia State University a smoke-free campus.
This year, Healthier Lyon County will continue a lot of ongoing projects. The group will host a Work Well Kansas workshop in April as well as its fifth annual Park Crawl this summer and fifth annual Health Fest this fall.
For more information on Healthier Lyon County goals and objectives, find the group on Facebook.
