West Ventura, Ventura County
Contact:
- Letty Alvarez
- Phone: (805) 677-5261
Fax: (805) 677-5220
Address:
2323 Knoll Dr.
Ventura, CA 93003
Healthy Ventura County
http://healthyventuracounty.org/
About Us
HEAL Zone | Link to HEAL Zone Fact Sheet
The Kaiser Permanente HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) Zone Initiative is designed to help combat obesity by making healthy choices accessible to more people in underserved communities across Southern California. The West Ventura HEAL Zone will empower residents to lead healthier lives through environmental changes that are sustained by policies and enhanced by education and promotion.
Strategies | Link to Cross Site Strategies
The mission of the West Ventura HEAL Zone Initiative is to empower the community to promote the health and safety of its residents; to prevent disease, injury, and disability; to assure quality and accessible health services; and to mobilize community partnerships in an effort to identy and sovle health and safety problesm in schools, recreation, work and residentce. The HEAL Zone Community Action Plan strategies address the following goals:
1. Reduce calorie consumption
2. Increase consumption of healthy foods and beverages (e.g., water), and
3. Increase physical activity.
Partners | Link to Partnership Structure
To get involved with the West Ventura HEAL Zone Initiative contact Letty Alvarez at 805-677-5261 or letty.alvarez@ventura.org.
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Ventura Community Celebrates Opening of Kellogg Park
The City of Ventura proudly celebrated the grand opening of Kellogg Park on April 14, 2018. The City Council approved the purchase of the 2.4-acre site in 2013 and the park was built in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, Kaiser Permanente West Ventura Heal Zone and the community. Designed by Pacific Coast Land Design, the park includes a walking path, fitness equipment, community garden, bike racks, playground, picnic tables, amphitheater, restrooms, drought tolerant grassy open space, and a water catchment system.
For more information on the park project, visit Pacific Coast Land Design here.
To view the Trust for Public Land video of the construction, click here.
To view the City of Ventura photos of the opening day, click here. -
De Anza Middle School from Ventura Receives Silver Designation from Healthier U.S. School Challenge
The Healthier U.S. School Challenge (HUSSC) is a voluntary certification initiative established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of healthy school meals, nutrition education promotion, and incorporation of physical activity. Four levels of superior performance are awarded: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold Award of Distinction. Several schools from Ventura Unified School District received this distinction of which De Anza Arts and Technology Academy Middle School received the silver designation.
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West Ventura Residents Celebrate New Park Victory
West Ventura residents, organized by CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy), look forward to a new park in their neighborhood. Deputy Mayor Heitman announced that escrow had closed on the Kellogg Street park site. The Trust for Public Land agreed to help the city pay $1.15 million to buy the property, and the Ventura City Council approved the purchase plan on February 4th. CAUSE and local residents celebrated their three years of organizing with a sunrise ceremony at the new park site.
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Lemon Grove and Ventura School Districts Awarded USDA Farm to School Grants
Lemon Grove School District was awarded a planning grant to develop a farm to school initiative at a new middle school. The district goal is to maximize use of local, minimally processed, and fresh foods in school meals every day.
Ventura Unified School District was awarded a grant to implement a countywide school food purchasing and marketing program that increases the quantity and quality of fresh, seasonal, locally grown foods. The district will also create the organization, infrastructure and systems to sustain and expand the program as an economic enterprise for the long-term.
During the first round, hundreds of applicants across the country competed for a limited amount of funding.
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North Long Beach, West Ventura, and Lancaster Create Safe Routes to School
HEAL Zone partners and residents are walking in their neighborhoods with clip boards and cameras. Why, you may ask? To survey the conditions of their neighborhood streets to ensure children have safe walkways to school. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is collaborating with the City of Long Beach Department of Public Health and Ventura Department of Public Health to engage the community in walkability assessments. The resident findings will help decision makers prioritize community capital improvement projects in the Zones.
North Long Beach HEAL Zone's walking club residents conducted a walking audit of Star King Elementary School and the surrounding neighborhood. West Ventura HEAL Zone residents completed a walkability assessment at the newly inquired Kellogg Park and the DeAnza Academy of Arts & Technology. Antelope Valley Partners for Health is working with school and community champions to pilot Walking School Bus programs in the HEAL site schools.