HEART Club

HEART Club: encouraging Healthy Eating and Activity in Rural Towns 

(Also known as Change Club)

Community civic engagement initiatives aimed at improving food and physical activity environments hold promise in addressing built environment disparities experienced by rural residents. The HEART Club civic engagement curriculum, guided by community-based participatory research methods, was designed to provide a step-wise process to guide and empower rural residents to improve healthy eating and physical activity opportunities in their community. HEART Clubs led by Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators in Herkimer County (NY), Schuyler County (NY), and Wyoming County (PA) were active for three years and additional HEART Clubs were assembled across Montana and New York. 

During the next phase of this project, we adapted the HEART Club curriculum into a web-based format (eHEART) that could be disseminated through Extension networks across the country. In addition, we aimed to build capacity of rural community residents by training them to facilitate eHEART activities. Resident recruitment and training was carried out by Extension educators, who attended online training sessions prior to implementation. These adaptations were designed to create a more sustainable HEART Club model to improve the health and well-being of rural residents in New York State, our partner states, and beyond.

“Each journey begins with a first step. Improve your personal wellness. Come take the first step with us.” -Schuyler County

Outcomes from our previous work can be viewed here: 

• A civic engagement approach to encourage healthy eating and active living in rural towns: the HEART Club pilot project
• The StrongWomen Change Clubs: engaging residents to catalyze positive change in food and physical activity environments

Funding:  Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station