Nutrition Access and Built Environment

The Nutrition Access and Built Environment team is housed within the Community Analysis and Linkages (CAL) area of Community Development Services (CDS). CAL provides technical assistance and consultation on community-based assessment and program planning, capacity building, strategy implementation, and appropriate evaluation to enhance community programs and strengthen ties between statewide infrastructure and local operations.

The Nutrition Access and Built Environment team strives to improve the health of Oklahomans through policies, systems, and environmental changes. This includes facilitating the development and ongoing work of the State Obesity Plan and corresponding stakeholders' group, seeking funding to support objectives within the state plan, pursuing innovative approaches to address some of our most challenging issues such, and increasing collaboration at the state and local levels. 

Some current initiatives that the team has been working on are:

• 305+ stakeholders
• 5 age-based sub-committees
  • Early Childhood
  • School Age
  • Adults
  • Older Adults
  • All Ages
• Ensuring progress toward achieving 114 unique evidence-based objectives

• OSDH and FreshRX are leading an initiative with technical assistance from Harvard Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation Technical Assistance.
• Objective: Increase flexible funding mechanisms through insurance plans so more FIM programs can be offered to citizens facing food insecurity or diet related health conditions.
• 84+ coalition members 

• Contract with the two Oklahoma Food Banks; Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma & Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
• Implementation of the PRAPARE screening tool and establishment of onsite emergency food pantries in health departments and clinics with referrals to ongoing resources. 

• Time-limited digital ad campaign awarded from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. This ad campaign begins in March and runs for 3 months. The campaign focuses on increasing nutrition education to mothers and caregivers of infants and toddlers.

• Through this program the team is receiving the same level of training and technical support as SPAN, HOP, and REACH grant recipients.
• The team focuses on the following CDC objectives:
  • Making healthy food choices easier everywhere through the promotion of food service and nutrition guidelines and the expansion of existing fruit and vegetable voucher incentives and produce prescription programs
  • Safe and accessible physical activity

• Continuous research on state and federal grants focusing on increasing nutrition security and physical activity throughout the state.
• The team shares funding opportunities with stakeholders as applicable and writes grants as applicable. 

• This cross-agency team is working together to improve safe, convenient, and equitable walking and biking routes to parks and open spaces and will implement projects and programs that better support local communities’ park access needs.

Please email us at CAL@health.ok.gov if you are interested in becoming one of our partners! 

• Oklahoma Obesity Map
• Children's Health Data

Email: CAL@health.ok.gov