BENNETT, Colo.—This small town on the Eastern Plains is reshaping itself by jettisoning bad habits and becoming a national role model for other rural communities looking to get fitter.
Sodas have been purged from football concession stands, a sand beach is luring people to the recreation center, and 4 miles of lighted trails will soon encircle the town, population 2,300.
Even Bennett’s long-term growth plan is aimed almost entirely at developing parks and trails and how to get people moving, town officials say.
It’s all part of a push that began about two years ago in the farming community about 20 miles east of Denver, said town Treasurer Trish Stiles.
About 34 percent of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And although Bennett’s weight and wellness statistics were no worse than the rest of the U.S., elected officials wanted to buck the following trend: Rural communities waste away from diabetes, heart disease and other ailments simply because they lack physical outlets and long-term efforts to improve nutrition.
“Really, from Aurora to here, there is nothing. No parks, no trails,” Stiles said. “So we wanted to create something unique, and we are becoming an oasis of sorts.”
Stiles oversees nearly $500,000 in grants, almost all aimed at developing a healthier, walkable community. Much of the funding goes for such simple improvements as raised sidewalks to get over railroad tracks or lighted signals at crosswalks.
“So many small towns in America don’t have sidewalks so people can walk to the grocery store, so they have to walk in the middle of the street, and that creates a hazard,” said Patty Boyd, program manager for the Tri-County Health Department, who oversees the Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative, which was funded by a two-year, $10.5 million national grant.
By March, about 70 percent of the grant money will have been distributed to schools, local governments, community organizations and other partner organizations working for healthy change in towns and cities in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties.
Most of Bennett’s seed money for shaping up came from a $151,000 grant from Tri-County Health, which last year issued nearly $3 million to support programs that promote healthy living, Stiles said.
“That $151,000 has definitely turned into so much more,” she said.
The Bennett School District also became a partner in the effort, launching health initiatives to foster better nutrition and physical activity. About 17 percent, or 12.5 million, of Americans ages 2-19 are obese, the CDC says.
To help, the district replaced the sugary soft drinks at concession stands with bottled water. School vending machines were stocked with snacks such as dried fruits, nuts, zero-calorie sports drinks and water.
And now the price of soda—$1—is double that of bottled water to encourage a healthier choice, said Jennifer Goodnight, the school district’s health-and-wellness coordinator.
The plan must be working: Healthy snack sales are up 40 percent, and the district is not losing money at concession stands, Goodnight said.
The bad news is that bad habits are tough to break, especially among adults.
“We had a few people at football games grouse about not having any sodas,” Goodnight said. “Sometimes you just have to have the courage to make that change and listen to the complaints.”
For the most part, however, most people have embraced the town’s new attitudes. Residents have volunteered to help with materials, schoolchildren have painted crosswalks, and the local chapter of Future Farmers of America helped design a trail near the high school.
“I think something like this is actually easier in a smaller community, like Bennett, because you really get a community buy-in,” Boyd said.
The work already done in Bennett has earned high praise from the CDC. In June, agency officials toured the town and saw the reseeded and rejuvenated ballpark and the sand beach at the rec center, built to get adults and children to work out.
They also learned about the collaboration between the school district and the town on Flat 14ers Colorado, a Tri- County Health initiative that encourages students and adults to walk, jog or run the exact distance it would take to summit one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks.
“The CDC officials were extremely impressed and felt that Bennett could serve as a model for other small, rural communities around the nation of how a few dollars can be stretched to make a healthy community,” Boyd said.
Next, the town plans to build a basketball court, a play area for kids and an outdoor exercise area for adults at the community center.
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of just about everybody,” said Bennett Mayor Sue Horn, “Bennett is rejecting the traditional status quo and pushing forward to make the community a happier, healthier place to live.”
