REACHing out in Pontiac: Working Together to Improve Food & Physical Activity Options
Healthy Pontiac, We Can!
Healthy Pontiac, We Can! (HPWC) is a diverse coalition working to create a community-based movement that engages all ages in healthy living by providing more access to fresh fruits & veggies and increased opportunities for physical activity. No single group or agency can make a community healthy-so much more can happen by working together. Collaborating on planning, promotion and funding helps make the resources work smarter. These qualities are essential in today's environment and help HPWC focus on improving the quality of life in Pontiac, Michigan. Through grant funding by the CDC's Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative and led by the grant recipient Oakland University in collaboration with local partners, HPWC has worked with Sprout Fresh Food Store to increase access to healthy, high quality produce at a low cost. HPWC also collaborated with the City of Pontiac to develop a Complete Streets plan to support walkability, bikeability, and access to public transportation, and are following through on implementing pieces of this plan including advocating for bike lanes, installing bike racks, and conducting sidewalk audits to inform sidewalk maintenance. These shared efforts & results provide all in Pontiac opportunities for healthy living.