Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, WV City of Wheeling








Population
: 26,771
Project focus: Access to foods that support healthy eating patterns

Goals: 

  • Improve physical health, as measured by reduced prevalence and risk factors for childhood metabolic disorders
  • Improve resilience, as measured by reducing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences 

Approaches and Solutions 
The City of Wheeling, with Fun-Raiser, Grow Ohio Valley, Inc., Operation YURT, West Virginia University School of Public Health Prevention Resource Center, FARMacy, Wheeling Health Right, West Virginia Bureau of Public Health and West Virginia University Extension – Ohio County, worked to create the Edible Mountain Coalition, a group that will create a holistic, place-based youth wellness hub that aims to increase access to local food, physical fitness, social connection and creative exploration.

Successes (as of September 2022)
The project team sought to create a central location where youth in Wheeling can take part in creative recreation and cooperative education. They held multiple steering committee meetings and workgroup discussions. These community conversations encouraged community members to provide guidance, background and vision for the development of the Edible Mountain. Today, the experiences and expertise of community leaders have been key to identifying how the Edible Mountain can be built out to better serve the children of Wheeling, in addition to pinpointing core priorities for the placemaking project. The new coalition adopted bylaws that codify their belief that youth should be part of decision making processes regarding their community. They also successfully leveraged their relationship building efforts to secure participation from the school board on their steering committee, a critical partner in youth wellness. A federal abandoned mine lands grant and support from the Education Foundation of America will allow the coalition to continue their development project. 

Snapshot 1 (July - December 2020) | Snapshot 2 (January - June 2021) | Snapshot 3 (July - December 2021)

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