Running head: FINDING PARTNERS FOR OBESITY PREVENTION
Finding Partners for Obesity Prevention
Kelly A. Goodnow
BIO201– Public Health and the Environment
Colorado State University – Global Campus
Dr. Jennifer Feighny
October 14, 2018
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FINDING PARTNERS FOR OBESITY PREVENTION
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Finding Partners for Obesity Prevention
Partner: Marion County Public Schools
Contact: Heidi Maier, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
Jonathan H. Grantham, Ed.D, Deputy Superintendent
Contact Information: Ph. 352-671-7700 | https://www.marionschools.net/marionfl
Reason for partnership: I believe a strong partnership can arise from working closely with the
superintendent and deputy superintendent of the Marion County School Board because their
commitment to the nutrition and education of their students in all of their schools. Their mission
is to provide nutritious meals to help boost student performance in the classroom. Marion County
School Board has already taken many steps in the right direction to join the fight against obesity.
Working together with Marion County to implement not only nutritious foods, but to educate
why those foods are best, how to proportion and even how to prepare their own healthy foods
can help to gain a better handle on health and wellness at an early age, effectively combating
obesity before it begins.
Partner: Marion County UF/IFAS - University of Florida Extension Services
Contact: Nancy Gal - Extension Agent IV, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health, Nutrition
Food Safety
Contact Information: Ph. 352-671-8400 | https://www.marioncountyfl.org/departmentsagencies/departments-a-n/extension-service/nutrition-and-wellness/programs
Reason for partnership: I believe a strong partnership can arise from working closely with
Marion County UF/IFAS and Nancy Gal because they already have a great base for health and
wellness approaches with events with healthy meal planning and pre-diabetic education classes.
A great reason to work together would be to increase the amount of people that are aware of
these options and how to take care of themselves. Stronger advertisements and a better outreach
program to Ocala and Marion County will encourage more engagement in services offered and
increase the number of people taking advantage of the opportunities offered to them. A variety of
class schedules on different days and times will ensure greater amounts of people can attend.
Partner: Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)
Contact: Florida Department of Health
Contact Information: 850-245-4407 | http://www.floridahealth.gov/%5C/statistics-anddata/survey-data/cppw/index.html
Reason for partnership: The Florida Department of Health’s Communities Putting Prevention
to Work Program is a locally driven initiative supporting 50 communities, over a two-year
period, to tackle obesity. Working directly with the Florida Department of Health and their
CPPW Program can help to better understand how the obesity problem has gotten so big,
determine solutions and to implement changes to help change the obesity rates in Ocala and
Marion County.
Partner: Marion County Parks and Recreation
Contact: Jim Couillard, Director/Landscape Architect
Contact Information: 352-671-8560
Reason for partnership: I believe Marion County Parks and Recreation to be a great partner to
work with in the fight to prevent obesity. Parks and Recreation proudly maintains over 40 park
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sites, which include everything from boating and swimming access, sports fields, hiking trails
and one-of-a kind play areas for children of all abilities. Marion County Parks and Recreation
draws a lot of attention throughout the year with activities and classes for the area, so pairing
with them to offer health and wellness courses and cooking events would be an extremely
helpful way in getting people in the city to participate in obesity prevention acts.
Partner: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Contact: Adam H. Putnam, Commissioner
Contact Information: (850) 617-7400 | https://www.freshfromflorida.com/FoodNutrition/Nutrition-Programs/Farm-to-School/School-Gardens/Fresh-for-Florida-Kids-TeachingGarden
Reason for partnership: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would be a
fantastic partnership because they have already taken steps to implement a Fresh for Florida Kids
Teaching Garden. The tours offered at the teaching garden educate students on the importance of a
nutritious diet and the benefits of growing their own food. This would also be a great partnership to
learn how to implement teaching gardens in Ocala. Utilizing their strategy to create teaching gardens
would be fantastic for both children and adults alike.
Partner: Florida Department of Transportation
Contact: Mike Dew, Secretary
Contact Information: 850-414-4100 | FDOT. (1996). Florida Department of Transportation.
Retrieved from http://www.fdot.gov/default.shtm
Reason for partnership: The Florida Department of Transportation would be a beneficial
partner to help create a city transit service specifically tailored to visiting farmer’s markets and
grocery stores. What would be specific about this transit that would be different from bus lines
would be the service going to areas the buses do not reach. There are still those that cannot make
it to the bus stops, because they do not go into the neighborhoods themselves. Partnering with
FDOT would give the opportunity to create a transit service that extends to areas that regular
transit does not visit.
Partner: Marion County Childrens Alliance – Generation Fit (Childhood Nutrition Workgroup)
Contact: Jessie Driggers, Health Educator
Contact Information: (352) 644-2624
Reason for partnership: Marion County Childrens Alliance is a great partner in creating a
better and healthier city because the work they do is trying to get better, healthier options in
vending machines, concession stands, and schools, while also trying to create an educational plan
to increase health and wellness knowledge in local schools.
Partner: Silver Springs Shores Community and Youth Center
Contact: Danny Smith
Contact Information: 352-438-2810
Reason for partnership: A community and youth center is the perfect partner to help implement
a health and wellness plan, as well as nutritional education programs. This youth center has a
small membership fee that is easily affordable for everyone and has the possibility to provide a
great place to educate the city’s youth.
Partner: Marion County Hospital District
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Contact: Curt Bromand, Executive Director
Contact Information: 352-622-3662 | https://mchdt.org/about-us/
Reason for partnership: A great partner that may be overlooked is the Marion County Hospital
District. Not only can the patients in hospitals themselves benefit from health and wellness
education, new parents can also benefit from educational and nutritional information to help
them from the start with themselves and their new family.
Partner: CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child Health
Contact:
Contact Information: 855-500-0050 x 805
Reason for partnership: CATCH would be a fantastic partnership because they offer healthy
living and obesity prevention programs, as well as offers grants for creating incorporating an
obesity program into schools.
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References
Catchglobal. (2014). Obesity Prevention Programs | Health Education Programs. Retrieved
from https://catchinfo.org/programs/
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (2012). Fresh for Florida Kids
Teaching Garden. Retrieved from https://www.freshfromflorida.com/FoodNutrition/Nutrition-Programs/Farm-to-School/School-Gardens/Fresh-for-FloridaKids-Teaching-Garden
Florida Health. (2015, April 22). Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW).
Retrieved from http://www.floridahealth.gov//statistics-and-data/surveydata/cppw/index.html
FDOT. (1996). Florida Department of Transportation. Retrieved from
http://www.fdot.gov/default.shtm
Marion County. (n.d.). Nutrition and Wellness Resources. Retrieved from
https://www.marioncountyfl.org/departments-agencies/departments-a-n/extensionservice/nutrition-and-wellness/nutrition-and-wellness-resources
Marion County. (n.d.). Parks and Recreation. Retrieved from
https://www.marioncountyfl.org/departments-agencies/departments-o-z/parks-andrecreation
Marion County Children's Alliance. (n.d.). Generation Fit. Retrieved from
http://mcchildrensalliance.org/blog/childhood-nutrition
Marion County Public Schools. (n.d.). Food & Nutrition Services / Overview. Retrieved from
https://www.marionschools.net/fsd
MCHD. (n.d.). About – Marion County Hospital District. Retrieved from
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https://mchdt.org/about-us/
Silver Springs Shores MSTU. (n.d.). Silver Springs Shores MSTU. Retrieved from
https://www.marioncountyfl.org/departments-agencies/departments-a-n/silver-springsshores-mstu
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