Board Invests $2.3 Million in Healthy Living Programs

The Board of Supervisors has accepted $2.3 million in California Department of Public Health grant funds to support healthy living education and programming in under-resourced neighborhoods across the region.

The funds for the program, called CalFresh Healthy Living, will assist a variety of projects. These include improving physical education programs in at least five school districts, building community gardens, and recruiting and training residents to advocate for public policy change to improve neighborhoods, transportation and activities that promote an active lifestyle.

This will be the fifth cycle of the CalFresh Healthy Living program, which started in 2012. The program focuses on areas where more than 50% of households earn below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

The goal of the program is that those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or who are eligible to be enrolled, will be able to make healthy food choices and engage in physically active lifestyles, reducing their health risks long term.

SNAP in San Diego County is called CalFresh. More than 402,000 people are enrolled as of September 2024, which is nearly 6% more than last year.