To build a healthy community, you must first decide what
part of your community to serve (your “target audience”). Then you
must learn about the community’s needs and strengths—the first
building block.
Choose a community where you feel comfortable and where you
feel you can make a difference. This can be your neighborhood, workplace,
school, faith-based or community center,club, or even your favorite hair salon.
Understanding Your
Community’s Strengths and Needs
Once you choose your community, take a few minutes to think
about the community and answer these questions about its strengths and needs:
- Do people in your community have a way to get information
about why physical activity and healthy eating are important?
- Does the community offer ways to learn about healthy
eating and cooking?
- Does the community offer ways to join different types of
physical activities?
The Checklists To Understand Your
Community’s Needs will help you answer these questions and guide
you in finding out about the needs of your community.
The checklists below ask questions about several types of
communities—your neighborhood, your school, your workplace, and your
faith-based or community center or club. These checklists can help you
understand the community’s strengths and needs when it comes to physical
activity and healthy eating. Check the boxes that apply to your community. The
unmarked boxes will help you decide what type of activity to focus on. You can
use these questions or make up your own to look at the strengths and needs in
other types of communities.
Your Neighborhood
- Are there sidewalks, walking paths, or biking
routes?
- Are low-priced or free group exercise classes
available?
- Are there parks with tennis courts, basketball
courts, swimming pools, playgrounds, or walking/running trails?
- Are low-priced or free gyms or fitness centers
nearby?
- Are there any sports teams open to community
members?
- Do local grocery stores have information on healthy
eating or tours that explain healthy
eating?
- Do grocery stores have signs to explain and promote
healthier foods, such as lean
meats, fat-free and low-fat milk, fruits and
vegetables, and foods made from whole grains?
- Is there a farmers’ market that sells locally
grown fruits and vegetables?
- Are classes available on healthy eating and
cooking?
- Is there a community garden where people grow their
own food?
- Do local restaurants offer and point out
low-calorie, low-fat, and low-salt foods on their
menus?
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Your School
- Are physical education (PE) classes part of the
regular school schedule?
- Are the school’s gyms, pools, tracks, fields,
courts, and/or trails open to the community
during nonschool hours (before
or after school, weekends, evenings, holidays, summer vacation)?
- Do student or family events—such as dances,
field days, carnivals, and fundraisers —
take place at the
school?
- Are there activity programs for children with
disabilities?
- Do vending machines offer healthy drinks and
snacks, such as bottled water, 100%
fruit juices, fat-free and low-fat
milk, pretzels, nuts, and dried fruits?
- Are fruits and vegetables served for breakfast and
lunch?
- Does the school cafeteria offer healthy foods each
day?
- Does the school have garden projects?
- Are children and parents encouraged to bring
healthy foods for parties, bake sales,
fundraisers, and sporting
events?
- Are classes offered that teach about healthy food
choices?
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Your Workplace
- Is information on physical activity and healthy
eating posted on bulletin boards or in
break rooms or cafeterias?
- Are stairs well lit and clearly marked with signs
that point out their location?
- Is using the stairs instead of elevators and
escalators encouraged at work? Are there
posters that explain why using
the stairs can help improve health?
- Are low-priced gym fees, an onsite gym, or exercise
classes offered to employees?
- Does the cafeteria offer healthy foods each
day?
- Are healthy potluck lunches encouraged?
- Are healthy drinks and foods, such as bottled
water, 100% fruit juices, and fruit, offered
during meetings?
- Are there healthy drinks and snacks, such as
bottled water, 100% fruit juices, fat-free or
low-fat milk, pretzels, nuts,
and dried fruits, in the vending machines?
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Your Faith-based or Community Center/Club
- Is information on physical activity and healthy
eating posted on bulletin boards or in
newsletters?
- Are there special events such as health fairs that
focus on physical activity and healthy
eating?
- Are members encouraged to bring healthy foods to
events?
- Are there healthy drinks and snacks, such as
bottled water, 100% fruit juices, fat-free or
low-fat milk, pretzels, nuts,
and dried fruits, in the vending machines?
- Are classes available on healthy eating and
cooking?
- Are low-priced or free group exercise classes
available?
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