HHCC board talks food

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Food was at the top of the agenda at the Healthy Henry County Communities (HHCC) board meeting recently with discussion surrounding Henry County?s efficiency in keeping its citizens adequately fed with access to balanced, nutritious meals.

Overall, the HHCC board felt that Henry County was making strong efforts to provide balanced, healthy meals to its citizens. In particular, the board praised efforts made by organizations such as Community Action of Southeast Iowa, the Fellowship Cup and various local churches, agreeing that many Iowans in the area are being cared for by the dedication and generosity of groups banding together to provide food to those in need.

While the board had many positive things to say concerning the subject, discussion did branch out to some lingering issues surrounding hunger in the local community. Ken Brown, director of the Fellowship Cup, says that one particular issue Henry County could improve upon includes the attitude surrounding the use of programs like food banks. Brown also insists that the use of food banks typically goes down when well-paying jobs flourish in a community.

Brown added that while he is thankful for the availability of food programs like those offered through the Fellowship Cup, these are meant to be temporary solutions to hunger needs rather than long-term ones. He insists that he would like to facilitate an attitude in which people use local foods banks when needed, but strive to be independent from them as much as possible.

?Well-paying jobs and job skill training are the major things that are going to impact the issue of hunger in this area,? Brown said. ?Many of the individuals that frequent the Fellowship Cup for food are disabled. I think we could do a better job of letting these individuals know that they can work up to a certain amount of hours and still receive disability benefits if they need it. Many people don?t understand this.?

Main Street director, Lisa Oetken, added that while job training is an important aspect to fighting hunger in America, she insists it also takes willingness and perseverance on behalf of every individual to strive to be an active member of the community. According to Oetken, businesses want to plant roots where workers are plentiful.

?Several temporary employment agencies have indicated to me that they are in need of people to work, but very few applications are being received from Henry County and other counties around us,? said Oetken. ?If we cannot recruit a labor force for the jobs that we already have, it becomes very difficult to recruit businesses to come to the area when we don?t have enough workers to fill positions.?

Members of the HHCC?s board concurred that one way to create a stronger workforce and lessen the dependence on programs like food banks might be to provide more job training in the local area. With this in mind, the board will begin to look for ways to partner with local workforce development agencies to educate the public on various job-training opportunities.

Another hot topic during the HHCC board meeting included a current community need for language translation. According to board member, Rose Lauer, Mt. Pleasant Community High School instructors who teach English as a second language have indicated that many local families would benefit from having more translation services in Henry County, especially at Henry County Health Center.

?A lot of parents who don?t speak English as their primary language have to take their young children to medical appointments to translate for them,? Lauer explained. ?However, many children are too young and don?t have the frame of reference or vocabulary to translate what a doctor is saying. It was also indicated to me that having more informational materials about services and places of importance in the county in languages other than English would be helpful.?

While the hospital does not have an official translator on staff, it does invest in a phone service that can help translate if a person is not available. Travis Johnson, HCHC?s Community Health director, agrees that having a person to translate rather than a phone service would be preferable, but finding individuals able to get certified is a struggle.

Currently, Johnson says the most commonly translated languages at HCHC are Spanish and Taiwanese.

In an effort to help better the resources in Henry County for non-English speakers, HHCC is looking at ways to make more certified translators available in the county. In addition, the board has decided to search for ways to include more pamphlets, books and informational documents available in various languages commonly spoken in the area.

Besides talk of food needs and language assistance in the county, the board also reminded members of the following upcoming events:

? S.O. Fun Day in Swedesburg and Olds will be on June 6.

? Another Daddy Boot Camp class will be on June 13. More details regarding the class will be released at a later date.

? Club M will hold a fund-raising event on June 11 at Mt. Pleasant High School. Various organizations and businesses are invited to purchase a table and decorate it in a theme of each organization?s choice. Interested parties may contact Club M staff at 319-385-8126 for more information or to sign up.

The next HHCC board meeting will be Tuesday, June 2, at 1 p.m., at HCHC?s Health Education Center.