Louisville Gets Healthy

Photo: © courtesy of the City of Louisville

The Wakeup Call

On Christmas Eve 2005, headlines in the Louisville Courier-Journal screamed "Louisville Checkup Sees a Sick City." Indeed, the stats were scary: Heart disease deaths were 19% higher than the national average; lung cancer deaths, 36% higher. A year earlier, another survey had found that 60% of Louisvillians were overweight or obese, 78% ate fewer than five daily produce servings and 35% never exercised.

That unhealthy news prompted then-mayor Jerry Abramson to launch the Healthy Hometown Movement. He started with small, inexpensive changes, including hosting citywide "Hike & Bike" events and urging residents to "Move It, Louisville" by being physically active at least five times a week. He even kicked off a physical activity challenge for city workers and engaged in a friendly rivalry with Lexington, Kentucky, mayor Teresa Isaac to see who could log the most steps in a month. (Mayor Abramson won.) A five-year, $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation helped the town build more sidewalks, gardens and parks, and Louisville's Health Department awarded $80,000 in city funds to dozens of neighborhood groups for fitness and wellness activities.

Grab-and-Go Produce

Perhaps the most innovative change has been setting up "Healthy in a Hurry" kiosks that sell subsidized produce in neighborhoods where a juicy apple or crisp bunch of broccoli is hard to find. Three kiosks—located in grocery stores and food marts—have opened so far and six more are in the works. "We've underwritten new refrigerators, shelves and the cost of some of the produce," says Susan McNeese Lynch, communications liaison for the Healthy Hometown Movement. "Making healthy food accessible and affordable is what's going to help people eat better."

Early Successes

Within a year of the movement's start, the number of African-Americans in downtown Louisville who ate at least five produce servings a day rose 20%. Thousands of people turned out for Hike & Bike events. And an estimated 75% of Metro Louisville residents got the health message via public service announcements and by attending events.

Fast-Forward to 2011

"Our annual Hike & Bike event is now one of the largest noncompetitive events in the nation," Lynch says. "Cycling groups are also on hand at the events to check people's bikes to make sure they're in good shape and teach families about safe urban biking so more people can enjoy it. As a result of events like these and additional bike lanes, there is clearly more bike traffic on the roads," she adds. Louisville has also purchased four new bike-toting city buses and increased the number of bus stops at city parks. Students at 20 elementary schools will help tend schoolyard vegetable gardens this year to provide fresh produce for school lunches; a school greenhouse will supply herbs to public school cafeterias to help cut sodium in lunches by 5% and added sugars by 10%. In the fall of 2011, all city schools will have a three-times-a-week gym class, and each session will devote 20 minutes to moderate to vigorous activity for all (no standing around!).

The "Healthy in a Hurry" kiosks are changing the eating habits of adults and children. "It used to be that the only produce I could find in my neighborhood was withered, moldy and expensive," says Keishanna Hughes, 33, a single mother of four children ages 12 to 15. "But ever since a 'Healthy in a Hurry' kiosk opened in my dollar store, I buy salads, fresh fruit and carrots instead of chips to keep around as snacks, and I plan time to cook," she says. "At first my kids didn't want to eat this way, but now they see how much better they feel." Says former Mayor Abramson, "This is more than an initiative, it's an ongoing movement that's helping people make lifelong changes."