23 Kansas Counties will be receiving funding through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant program this year.
Among those selected is Lyon County’s Healthier Lyon County coalition. Healthier Lyon County Grant Manager Daphne Mertens says the county can receive up to $400,000 in funds through the program.
She says Healthier Lyon County already has some plans in mind as to what the funding could go towards. She says the organization has placed an emphasis on “creative placemaking.”
Mertens says one of the best features of the grant program is it gives counties a lot of flexibility in determining how the funds will be spent.
This is the second round of funding being allocated through the program with 12 of the 23 selected counties, including Lyon, being returners. Mertens says the original round of funding has already had a major impact on the local community.
This includes the implementation of several new programs in just the past three years. This includes the establishment of the Lyon County Food and Farm Council, three new farmer’s markets in Olpe, Allen and Americus and two rural grocery stores in Allen and Olpe.
For more information on Healthier Lyon County find them on Facebook.
