Mississippi Teams Hold Food Day Meetings to Discuss Local Obesity Crisis
In celebration of Food Day—a nationwide celebration and movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food—the Mississippi PLACE MATTERS teams held a series of community events to discuss the connection between the rise in obesity and lack of affordable, healthy foods in most Delta neighborhoods. Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation; more than one in three (36%) Mississippi adults are overweight or obese. The problem is especially acute in the Delta region. Adult obesity rates in are even higher (40% or more) in the counties in which the PLACE MATTERS team is working.
The Mid-Mississippi Delta team held two events on Food Day. First, together with the Healthy Weight Collaborative at the BB King Museum in Indianola (Sunflower County), the PLACE MATTERS team presented an after-school film screening of the acclaimed documentary, “Weight of the Nation,” to students at Gentry High School. In the evening, the team held a meeting together with Reverend Reginald Griffin of Pleasant Hope Church in Lambert (Quitman County). At this event, the team held a second screening and led a discussion to engage families in the ways in which local leaders and residents can come together to create solutions to curb the obesity epidemic in the Delta and produce good health, wellness, and resilience. Participants raised new ideas for increasing healthy food access in their communities as well as highlighted existing resources, such as farmers markets, that can be leveraged to improve access to affordable food. The Mid Delta team plans to expand these screenings to other churches in the PLACE MATTERS counties and will be launching a photovoice contest with local youth in the coming year.
The South Delta team also held two Food Day events to highlight the factors leading to high rates of obesity in Sharkey and Issaquena Counties. The first, a community meeting designed to engage families in a discussion of both the problems unique to the Delta and the ways in which local leaders and residents can come together to create solutions to produce good health, wellness, and resilience. Participants watched segments of the acclaimed documentary, “Weight of the Nation,” and after viewing the film, the group discussed opportunities to address the root causes of obesity in the Delta through local change. Residents strategized about different resources they would like to bring to their counties, such as community gardens, and ways to engage policymakers and youth. Finally, the South Delta team held a booth at the annual Great Delta Bear Affair, a local festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of President Teddy Roosevelt’s bear hunt in Sharkey County that celebrates local history and conservation, to highlight healthy food recipes and engage local residents in the PLACE MATTERS work.
Both teams are planning to build on the momentum of these Food Day events and further engage residents in their efforts to promote greater access to affordable, healthy foods in the Delta.
