UAMS, Berryville Community Center Collaborate to Offer Healthy Food Options to Community Members
| LITTLE ROCK — A new collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation and the Berryville Community Center will bring healthier food items to the community center.
Access to nutritious food is an essential component of overall health, yet many Arkansans, particularly in rural communities, face barriers to fresh, healthy options. This collaboration helps to eliminate these barriers by bringing healthy food options into a trusted, community-centered space.
The institute is collaborating with the Berryville Community Center to support the adaptation of nutrition standards for packaged snacks and beverages sold in their concessions to reduce the overall calories, sugars, and sodium. The institute is helping develop marketing and promotional campaigns to raise awareness of the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle. In addition, the institute is supporting the implementation of behavioral design strategies to direct people toward healthier choices (examples include strategic placement of products, price incentives, and using signage to highlight healthy options).
“The Berryville Community Center serves as a vital hub for residents of all ages and offers programs and resources that help Arkansans grow and thrive,” said Christina Gillison, assistant director of the Berryville Community Center. “This initiative is about more than food, it’s about building stronger communities, and by partnering with the institute, we will continue to expand our support to our members.”
Through this collaboration, healthy food items have been made available for purchase to community members who utilize the Berryville Community Center. Currently, the community center is offering trail mix, no sugar added apple sauce, string cheese, and other healthy snacks items for purchase with plans to add more based on community needs.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to improving health outcomes in our communities,” said Hannah Dial with the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation. “By working alongside organizations like the Berryville Community Center, we are creating sustainable opportunities for individuals and families to access the nutritious foods they need to thrive.”
For more information about the Berryville Community Center, visit bcc.berryvillear.gov.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,015 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###