Feather River Health Foundation’s Healthy Communities Initiatives

By Chuck Rough Chairman, Feather River Health Foundation

The Feather River Health Foundation sponsors a Healthy Communities initiative to establish a preventive health-focused plan to improve the physical and emotional health and well-being of our communities in Butte County, including Paradise and the Paradise Ridge. This initiative is making substantial progress towards completion.

This initiative is overseen by a steering committee comprised of key stakeholders throughout Butte County and supported by key community partners and national Blue Zone experts serving in an advisory capacity.

The steering committee recognized from the outset that an emphasis on preventive health is a far less expensive approach to individual health and well-being and results in much greater long term health benefits for these same individuals, their families, and communities.

More specifically, this community-driven plan intends to complement existing preventive health efforts in Butte County and to address gaps and unmet needs in three priority areas – healthy eating, physical activity, and connection & meaning.

Addressing Food Insecurity

We’ve stepped up our efforts to address the serious food insecurity problem in Paradise and Butte County by allocating more than $42,000 to the Butte County Local Food Network and arranging for the Blue Zones national expert on food systems to advise the Butte County Food Systems Collaborative. This Collaborative is working to establish a county-wide system to focus on food insecurity and inequity, and lack of access to healthy food.

Supporting Ridge Recovery

FRHF continues to support residents as they recover and rebuild through the Inspire Hope Project, which provides local organizations with truckloads of household items. More than 166 trucks have delivered items for the Ridge community, valued at more than $8.3 million, and supporting thousands of individuals, adults, and children.

For further information about the Feather River Health Foundation and our mission, contact Chuck Rough, Chair at clroughjr@gmail. com or Joleen Levey, Executive Director at nevesjm@ah.org.