Edible Landscape Project

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

The Mecklenburg County Public Health’s (MCPH) public health priority area has a disproportionate number of residents that do not have access to healthy foods. This lack of access is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Chronic disease is one of the County’s top 4 priorities as indicated in the latest Community Health Assessment (2018). MCPH is partnering with several community organizations to create gardens and orchards (edible landscapes) that produce foods that can be distributed to at risk populations. The Edible Landscape Project is an example of how community representatives and food security stakeholders are engaged in the design of an intervention to address a public health priority. This effort has been successful improving access to fresh produce for at risk populations and has demonstrated that edible landscapes can be part of a multi-level approach to improving the availability of healthy foods.