Healthy Places Burke County
Working in Burke County
Burke County is located in the scenic foothills region of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina. This area possesses abundant natural beauty with Lake James, Linville Falls, and Pisgah National Forest all nearby. The community has a lower unemployment rate than the state average, primarily driven by a strong manufacturing base that is now rare among rural regions.
We partner to prompt change.
Since 2014, Burke County and Healthy Places NC have been working together on health issues, such as high rates of chronic disease, substance misuse, mental health needs, and lack of access to health care. Through Healthy Places NC, Burke County residents have identified access to care, obesity reduction, and substance misuse as three key issues to address moving forward.
Community Approaches
We support the community in their efforts to achieve the following goals:
Obesity reduction.
Local partners are working to increase healthy eating and active living by:
- Enhancing opportunities for physical activity at 14 schools in areas with low incomes.
- Expanding and strengthening Fresh Bucks and SNAP/EBT use at farmers markets.
- Renovating and enhancing local recreation spaces to increase equitable opportunities for year-round physical activity.
- Supplying cafeteria equipment to cook healthy school meals in Burke County Public Schools.
- Piloting the Growing Minds Farm to School Program to increase access and education to healthy foods at five elementary schools.
Substance misuse.
Local partners are working to reduce rates of substance misuse and overdose deaths by:
- Supporting community-based research that engages residents in collecting data, identifying gaps, and determining best practices to reduce substance misuse rates.
- Supporting evidence-informed and evidence-based approaches to prevent substance misuse among vulnerable populations.
- Expanding a multi-agency collaborative, Burke Integrated Health (BIH), to implement a population/behavioral health project addressing prevention, treatment, and social determinants of health.