Spotlight on North Little Rock, Arkansas: "Fit 2 Live"

By Bernadette Rhodes, Fit 2 Live Coordinator, City of North Little Rock, Ark.

North Little Rock, Arkansas is in the fourth year of its City and School District-led Fit 2 Live initiative, launched to address the city’s child and adult obesity problem. More than one in three children in North Little Rock are overweight or obese, and 35% of adults are obese.

With the guidance of its leadership team, comprised of representatives from state and local government, health agencies, faith-based organizations, and residents, Fit 2 Live honed in on five initiatives to move the needle on obesity. These initiatives align closely with the five goals of Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties, however, they have been customized to fit the unique needs of North Little Rock.

1) School Wellness

The North Little Rock School Board passed a strengthened district wellness policy on August 16, 2012.

Components of wellness policy include:

• Nutrition education.
• Nutrition standards for school meals, a la carte items, and snacks.
• Fundraising that promotes physical activity and alternatives to junk food.
• Physical education and activity standards.
• Promotion of Joint Use Agreements for use of school facilities outside of school hours.

Each summer, the office of Coordinated School Health organizes a fitness camp for overweight girls, which emphasizes parental involvement and on-going evaluation. The camp features nutrition education, lifelong physical activity strategies, and a workshop for parents on maintaining a healthy lifestyle at home.

2) Community Gardens

At the beginning of 2011, there was only one community garden in North Little Rock. Thanks to the Mayor’s and City Council’s leadership, $40,000 per year was allocated to support the growth of new and existing gardens. Since 2011, the number of community and school gardens has grown from one to 18. These projects serve seniors, children, students, the homeless, recovering addicts, and more. In 2012, the City of North Little Rock became a host site for two “Arkansas GardenCorps” AmeriCorps service members, who made a huge difference to the largely volunteer garden managers, giving them hands-on support and adding more than just monetary value to the gardens’ membership in the Fit 2 Live garden network. The City’s commitment to this initiative has resulted in innovative approaches to urban farming. For example, the City Council has supported produce sales directly from garden sites as well as via a mobile market.

3) Bicycle and Walk Friendly City

Through a federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant, the City built new sidewalks around schools and implemented an in-depth bicycle and pedestrian education program for area children. In order to sustain the program, city staff organized a seminar to certify 11 individuals, including three elementary P.E. teachers, as LCIs (League Cycling Instructors) through the League of American Bicyclists. Staff and LCIs have implemented SRTS programming in classrooms and at school events. LCIs have also taught “Traffic Skills 101” bike workshops for adults and held community bike rallies for kids.

In addition, committees of city staff, residents, and enthusiasts have devised both a master bike plan and a pedestrian plan (currently under development) and advocated for improved infrastructure, education and encouragement for both walking and biking. Since 2011, North Little Rock has installed walking trails in parks, converted an old railroad spur into an urban trail, and made improvements to its River Trail to increase safety and accessibility.

In 2013, two North Little Rock neighborhoods were awarded “Jump Start” planning grants through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiative of Metroplan, our metropolitan planning organization. Jump Start involves an innovative approach to community revitalization through stakeholder engagement, pedestrian-friendly, denser land use planning, and environmentally sustainable development. So far, Jump Start has engaged over 300 individuals in the planning process and resulted in the development of two new merchants’ associations and a Jump Start implementation coalition. The final outcome at the end of 2014 will be City Council-adopted zoning overlays to guide future development of streets, green spaces and buildings, and cost estimates for the development of pilot projects.

Jump Start has given local stakeholders a stronger voice in the future development of their neighborhoods, and attracted outside attention as well. For example, a local community development organization, Pop Up in the Rock, chose Park Hill, one of the Jump Start neighborhoods, for its annual Pop Up event, a day long demonstration of what a “better block” can look like. Volunteers constructed temporary bus shelters; the city installed a temporary crosswalk across a busy arterial; police presence and increased pedestrian traffic ensured slow vehicle speeds; and pop up restaurants, activities and food trucks created a vibrant atmosphere for the approximately 3,000 individuals who attended the event.

4) Employee Wellness

From subsidizing gym memberships, weight loss programs and nutrition education seminars to organizing city teams for 5Ks and fitness challenges, Fit 2 Live’s approach to employee wellness has always responded to the desires of individual departments. As a result, city employees feel supported in their quest for wellness, and feel free to bring new ideas to the table. The City’s two over-arching employee wellness initiatives are its Healthy Food Options Policy (in alignment with LMCTC Goal IV: Model Food Service) and its results-based incentives for wellness screenings.

The Healthy Food Options policy applies to food purchased with City funds and dispensed in vending machines on City property. It uses NIH’s GO-SLOW-WHOA classification system, and requires that City-funded food be comprised of at least 50% GO or SLOW foods. Vending machines must offer at least 12.5% GO or SLOW snacks and at least 30% GO or SLOW drinks. MyPlate posters are displayed in break rooms across City departments, in alignment with LMCTC Goal II: MyPlate, Your Place.

In November 2014, the city will offer its first wellness screening with results-based incentives. The screenings will measure blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol and provide a $10 incentive for each measure that falls within a healthy range. This program will give the City a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of its employee wellness efforts, as well as indicate where the greatest need lies for intervention.

5) Community Wellness

Fit 2 Live’s most popular community wellness initiative is its monthly “Fit 2 Live @ Laman” program at the Laman Public Library. Fit 2 Live @ Laman has allowed the city to reach dozens of residents with reliable, professional nutrition and fitness information. Programs are taught by volunteer dietitians – through a partnership with the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – and fitness instructors, which ensures that the program remains free and sustainable on a small budget.

In partnership with Fit 2 Live, the public library has expanded its mission and become a hub for the health-conscious. Since the beginning of 2014, the library has partnered with the Million Hearts initiative to offer a community health fair, launched three Cooking Matters courses, and started offering free Zumba and Fitness Boot Camp classes. For the first time this summer, it also partnered with North Little Rock Parks and Recreation to implement the USDA’s summer food service program at both its branches. As a result, Parks and Recreation was able to serve at total of 11,298 breakfasts and 20,454 lunches at 8 sites across the city, in alignment with Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties Goal III: Smart Servings for Students. The program included nutrition education sponsored by a grant from the National Recreation and Park Association.

For more information about North Little Rock’s efforts to build a healthier community, contact Bernadette Gunn Rhodes at BRhodes@nlr.ar.gov.