Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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Towards a Healthy Neigbourhood

Many factors affect the health of individuals and communities, including an individual’s knowledge about health, cultural practices related to food choices, and having access to information about an adequate and healthy diet.

In our McCauley community, our food system helps to identify and mobilize the kind of local food and drink resources that are needed to bring about sustainable community change at our neighbourhood level.

Community residents are the foundational core of community involvement. We know our neighbourhood and can identify our community’s assets, deficiencies, and needs. Residents provide an authentic knowledge base of community consumption patterns and represent the community’s interests. For example, foods that are consumed or sold in McCauley’s various businesses are from around the world. The local health department has access to important health information and acts as a liaison between the community and other government agencies. McCauley Revitalization is helpful in leading community meetings, motivating the residents to get involved and promoting possible strategies. The neighbourhood organizations, schools, local associations, or councils have established a community base, such as the Creating Hope Society, Centre for Race & Culture, Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative, Edmonton Multicultural Coalition, Equi-Tea Multicultural Catering, and Multicultural Family Resource Society, to name a few. They are the key educators providing materials, programs, and classes about health regulation, which can help create awareness and market for such food and physical exercise. They are familiar with food consumption patterns and the needs of the residents and can help promote new community gardens and develop local markets. Community gardeners at McCauley Centre have a strong interest in healthy living protocols for the community.

In addition, restaurant, grocery, and liquor store owners can provide and advocate to their customers information concerning regulations about happy hour and alcohol consumption. This can result in the reduction of damage to mental and physical health, as well as other disruptions to families and neighbours to collaboratively create McCauley’s vision of a healthy neighbourhood.

Increasing neighbourhood awareness for healthier and diverse lifestyles is hard work, but it can bring the neighbourhood together in a way that will make this necessary work worthwhile.

Nhan is originally from Vietnam and lives in McCauley.

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