HEAL Cities and Towns Policy Assessment Tool |
Healthy Eating Active Living Cities & Towns Campaign
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The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHi) is leading an initiative called the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Cities & Towns Campaign in strategic partnership with the Virginia Municipal League and Maryland Municipal League. The HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign for the Mid-Atlantic is funded by Kaiser Permanente and is part of a growing national campaign that is currently taking place in California, Oregon, and Colorado.
The HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign supports cities and towns in Virginia and Maryland in creating healthier communities by adopting policies that foster active living and healthy eating. Municipalities can advance healthy eating and physical activity through zoning and land use policy, food policy, workplace wellness policy, and other strategies tailored to the needs of the region’s cities and towns. Creating environments that support healthy individual choices is essential to address the obesity epidemic among the region’s children and adults. HEAL Cities & Towns staff members are here to provide assistance to you and your municipality in adopting policies that are appropriate for your community by providing sample policies, fact sheets, strategy sessions, regional trainings, and other tools.
The purpose of this audit tool is to identify what policies are already in place in your community to determine opportunities and prioritize policies that meet the needs of your city or town. There is no need to feel overwhelmed if your city or town does not have many of these policies in place. This assessment is the first step in working towards becoming a healthier community. Once you complete the assessment, HEAL staff use your answers to determine opportunities and strategies to support you in making your community into a place where healthy choices are easy to make.
This assessment tool is comprehensive and includes five sections. We understand that elected officials and appointed staff are busy. If you do not have the time to complete the assessment in one session, we recommend that you print the assessment and complete it on paper before entering your answers online. You may also want to divide the assessment into sections, have one or more staff members complete each section, and then have one person enter the results. Whatever approach you decide to take, we commend you for taking this first step in making your community a healthier one. We look forward to working with you in the future, and please do not hesitate to contact us if you need assistance completing the assessment.
The HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign supports cities and towns in Virginia and Maryland in creating healthier communities by adopting policies that foster active living and healthy eating. Municipalities can advance healthy eating and physical activity through zoning and land use policy, food policy, workplace wellness policy, and other strategies tailored to the needs of the region’s cities and towns. Creating environments that support healthy individual choices is essential to address the obesity epidemic among the region’s children and adults. HEAL Cities & Towns staff members are here to provide assistance to you and your municipality in adopting policies that are appropriate for your community by providing sample policies, fact sheets, strategy sessions, regional trainings, and other tools.
The purpose of this audit tool is to identify what policies are already in place in your community to determine opportunities and prioritize policies that meet the needs of your city or town. There is no need to feel overwhelmed if your city or town does not have many of these policies in place. This assessment is the first step in working towards becoming a healthier community. Once you complete the assessment, HEAL staff use your answers to determine opportunities and strategies to support you in making your community into a place where healthy choices are easy to make.
This assessment tool is comprehensive and includes five sections. We understand that elected officials and appointed staff are busy. If you do not have the time to complete the assessment in one session, we recommend that you print the assessment and complete it on paper before entering your answers online. You may also want to divide the assessment into sections, have one or more staff members complete each section, and then have one person enter the results. Whatever approach you decide to take, we commend you for taking this first step in making your community a healthier one. We look forward to working with you in the future, and please do not hesitate to contact us if you need assistance completing the assessment.