Healthy Community Grants

Alexis Health Services will use the Healthy Community Grant to support the nutritional wellbeing of the birthing people in Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation during their immediate postpartum period, thus increasing breastfeeding rates. Proper nutrition after giving birth is important to establish good breast milk supply, especially within the first 10 days. They will teach volunteers from the community how to cook healthy meals and empower them to find recipes that are nutritious, culturally relevant, and taste good to the birthing person. After the birthing person has their child, the volunteer(s) will cook healthy meals to nurture the birthing person for the first 10 days of that child’s life. When a birthing person does not have to worry about what food they need / want to eat, they can focus on establishing a breastfeeding relationship with their new little one.

With the Healthy Community Grant, The City of Beaumont plans to purchase snowshoes for use by the residents of Beaumont. The city wants to increase year-round engagement in healthy, active living by increasing the use of the trail system in the Four Seasons Park and throughout the community. Currently there are limited opportunities to engage in active living outdoors in the winter. The Healthy Community Grant will assist in the purchase of snowshoes in a variety of sizes, where residents can borrow them for free, for 24 hrs at a time. Having snowshoes free to borrow in Beaumont will diminish barriers, allowing more people to be active throughout the winter months.

The Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement plans on using the Healthy Community Grant to host two “Healthy Eating, Healthy Choices” sessions administered through the Recreation Department. The project will target low income single parents, youth, seniors and people with disabilities. The sessions will emphasize the importance of eating healthy and how to choose healthy food on a budget while incorporating Metis customs of storytelling. Community members will learn how to prepare and cook healthy family sized meals to last at least 5 days.

The Midewiwin Teaching Lodge Society of Alberta will work with a Midewiwin Elder and the Alex Community Food Centre to lead participants in the preparation of a ceremonial feast. The project will focus on intergenerational teachings between Elders, youth, as well as urban-based Indigenous adults and will include a community of 125+ people. Teachings will include ceremonial protocol around preparation and handling of ceremonial food, and the opportunity to prepare and serve a ceremonial feast following a four day fast and sweat lodge.

Over the last two years, the Iiyika’kimaat Youth Program has implemented a variety of healthy eating and wellness activities that directly align with the traditional worldview of Indigenous people. To continue this initiative, the Iiyika’kimaat Youth Program will utilize the Healthy Community Grant to explore traditional hunting practices through hands on learning and land based traditional teachings. This opportunity will positively affect the youth in the program and the broader community by increasing their ability to provide for themselves and their communities within a culturally traditional context.

The Miskanawah Friendship Round Dance is a community event that connects thousands of people from all communities and backgrounds in celebration of friendship, family, diversity, and inclusivity. The Healthy Community Grant will be used to support this event, which promotes active and healthy living through song and dance from an Indigenous cultural lens. Steeped in tradition, the Round Dance is a healing ceremony that has become a social gathering of singing, dancing, followed by a cultural feast. Nutritious and traditional foods are prepared and served to more than 2,000 people. Individuals from all backgrounds come together in friendship to celebrate First Nations culture. This event will focus on continuing to strengthen our community through partnerships by offering programs that promote inclusivity, and that builds an active, healthy community.

The Dene Tha’ Community School plans to use the Healthy Community Grant to purchase two portable grow towers, seeds and necessary equipment to grow healthy foods in the classroom and throughout the school. The grow towers will rotate between classrooms every 3 month to be utilized by teachers as a hands on instructional tool to teach about the food cycle. Produce will be used in the Home Economics Program, Food Courses and healthy supplements for the school kitchen and Hot Lunch Program.

The Dead Man’s Flats Community Association (DMFCA) will use the Healthy Community Grant to complete the Dead Man’s Flats Community Garden for the hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats (DMF), Alberta. The hamlet has within the last four years added a new subdivision which when completed will add 76 single family homes and 28 multi-unit condominiums to the previous 52 dwellings. The community garden project aims to provide not only a garden to grow fresh vegetables but it is also expected to become a centralized gathering space that will unite both the existing residents and the new subdivision residents of DMF. The garden location will allow community residents to meet, connect, garden and develop a sense of belonging.

The Healthy Community Grant will support a partnership between the Inner City Recreation and Wellness Program (ICRWP) and Bike Edmonton. Many Boyle Street Community Services members utilize bicycles as a form of transportation or recreation, however these bicycles are often not in safe operating condition. Starting in spring 2020, ICRWP will use the funds to support the expansion of the Community Membership Program, allowing community members to access the Bike Edmonton bicycle repair workshops during all operating hours, to expand the scope of pop up repair workshops to other inner city agencies, as well as reimburse Bike Edmonton for parts used, and support the involvement of individuals who wish to volunteer with Bike Edmonton.

In partnership with the Town of Fort Macleod, Fort Macleod Environment Committee, and the Community Garden, the Community Health Champions will use the Healthy Community Grant to coordinate a fruit tree planting day in the spring of 2020. A tree planting day will be a community event to engage community members to participate and learn about fruit tree planting so as to encourage local residents to plant their own fruit bearing trees. In the fall with help and involvement of Kids First Family Centre a fruit harvest will be coordinated by the Community Health Champions involving local community members of all ages to participate and learn how to preserve the abundance of fruit for months to come.

Using the Healthy Community Grant, the Fort McKay Wellness Centre plans to implement “Healthy Traditional Cooking Classes” for children, youth and Community Members. Cooking classes will be offered once a week in the evening over an 8-week period. Children, youth, Elders and community members will have the opportunity to learn how to prepare, cook and serve Traditional Indigenous meals using wild game meat (when available) and vegetables sourced from their outdoor garden beds and garden towers, along with other ingredients needed to complete the meal. Healthy Traditional Cooking Classes will be taught by a local Elder or Community Member, using ‘family recipes’ that are passed down from generations, while promoting intergenerational programming. At the end of the Cooking Classes, a cook book will be created featuring all the recipes and photos of the participants creating them. A copy of this cookbook will be provided to each participant once the Cooking Classes are complete.

With the Healthy Community Grant, the Wild Rose Food Connections aim is to support the opening of a food rescue initiative like the one in High River. Since it started in High River in October 2018,
the Food Rescue Initiative in High River has rescued 61,988 lbs pounds of food that otherwise would have been thrown out due to damage, excess or imminent best before dates.
Claresholm FCSS, Food Bank staff and community members have reported that they see a high rate of food insecurity in the community. The Food Bank only provides shelf stable, non-perishable items (other than meat) in its hampers. Food Rescue can provide items like yogurt, milk, cheese, and fresh produce to the community anonymously, at no cost. Having fresh, healthy food is a fundamental need that all of humanity shares. Healthier options absolutely improve the quality of life for everyone.

The Hinton Friendship Centre offers an after school and non-school day program that targets at-risk youth ages 8-12. The program runs Monday to Thursdays and includes transportation, traditional teachings, recreational opportunities, and healthy snacks. The Healthy Community Grant will be used to expand the healthy snack program to include a full meal once a week and a twice monthly ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ program. The goal of this program is to teach youth easy to make, nutritious meals for themselves and their families.

Lethbridge Sport Council will use the Healthy Community Grant to book facility space and hire two part time staff to co-facilitate the Lethbridge Roving Gyms program. Lethbridge Roving Gyms is a free indoor play program, providing structured and unstructured activities for children 5 and under and their parents or guardians. Roving Gyms operates during the fall and winter months (October to April) when weather may prevent children from playing outside. The “roving” aspect of the Roving Gyms program is that this program’s location changes throughout its weekly schedule. This program is offered free of charge in various locations and times around the community to eliminate social and economic barriers to participation and to ensure it is accessible to all families with young children.

Identifying a lack of recreation opportunities for youth in the community, the Village of Linden will be repurposing an old tennis court into a skateboard park for youth. The Healthy Community Grant will be used to purchase a “Park in a Cart Portable Skateboard Park”. This park will be available to the community throughout the spring, summer, and fall, promoting physical activity and socialization.

The Healthy Community Grant will be used to form the Red Deer Wellness Coalition, made up of local wellness leaders, who will work together to showcase free healthy eating and active living programs and activities throughout Red Deer. By working together, the Red Deer Wellness Coalition can reach more people and be more successful in getting Red Deer healthier. Their goal is to promote and raise awareness of several events and activities that provide education and/or hands-on learning opportunities to improve healthy eating and active living among families of Red Deer.

The Healthy Community Grant will be used by Samson Youth and Sports Development to provide healthy menu options based on Canada’s Food Guide and traditional food practices within the recreation centre. Samson Youth and Sports Development will educate local youth on Canada’s Food Guide and traditional food practices and engage them to design the menu for the facility. This menu will be displayed for the youth to see when they come into the facility, instilling pride and ownership of the healthy snacks they ultimately choose for themselves.

The Healthy Community Grant will be used to create a small orchard expansion onto the existing community garden at the Clymont Community League, as well as expand the garden itself. This will provide more learning opportunities about the life cycle of fruit trees and shrubs, and how to prepare and store produce. As well, the addition of the new trees and shrubs will be added to the preschool curriculum, expanding the impact of the program to the youth within the community.

The Town of Stony Plain is working towards making their Children’s Summer Programs more inclusive for children with different levels of physical and mental abilities and ethnic and social backgrounds. Currently, they work with participants to determine their needs, wants and ability levels and modify crafts and games to ensure they are able to participate in some capacity, however they have identified a need for more professional development in this area to enhance accessibility to their programs. The Healthy Community Grant will be used provide training to equip staff with the tools required to support the diverse needs of the children within their community.

Strathcona County will provide free recreation opportunities for all ages every day throughout the 2020 Summer. The Healthy Community Grant will be used to support the cost of children and adult fitness instructors. This programming will allow the community to experience the joy of recreation in an outdoor space and bring awareness to residents of both indoor and outdoor free programs that run year-round. These programs will target all ages and abilities and ensure that residents have the opportunity to meet their physical, mental, recreational, and social needs.

With the support of the Healthy Community Grant, The Viking Community Wellness Society will start an indoor walking/fitness program for older adults at the recreation centre. The goal of this program is to help end sedentary behaviours among this population group and decrease social isolation during the winter months. The program would include guided walking tours to demonstrate the use of Nordic Walking Poles, as well as fitness tips on the benefits of their use by a recognized exercise specialist.

The Town of Wainwright, in partnership with IMPACT (Information, Mentorship, Prevention, Action, Community, Team), will use the Healthy Community Grant to provide a variety of activities for children and youth during non-instructional school days. The goal is to increase participation in physical activity, reduce barriers to activity, provide the opportunity to try new activities and offer opportunities to be involved in the community through healthy living. Their vision is an informed, connected, healthy community.