Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion

Established in 2002, the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion (CPHP) mission was to provide high quality nutrition education, health promotion and disease prevention services through partnerships, directed at eligible families in Chicago. The CPHP nutrition education team provided services through a wide network of community-based organizations with interventions designed to improve nutrition and reduce health disparities for individuals with nutrition associated diseases. CPHP provided high-quality culturally tailored nutrition education in more than 300 venues reaching every region of Chicago.

CPHP’s goal was to bring healthy lifestyle messages into communities where Chicagoans live, work, eat and play. We encouraged Chicago families to make healthier food choices, learn to prepare and consume healthier foods every day and be more physically active. CPHP provided nutrition education through a team of Nutrition educators, drawing on the unique strengths of both academic professionals (often registered dietitians) and paraprofessional community peer educators.

Nutrition Interventions

CPHP nutrition interventions actively engage individuals in schools, parks, community clinics, and other locations throughout Chicagoland.

Early Childhood Intervention
CPHP provided education and support to Head Start and qualifying preschool sites to promote the consumption of healthy foods, daily physical activity and positive health behaviors specific to obesity prevention.
Community Youth Intervention
CPHP extended its services for youth outside of the classroom by offering nutrition education and policy, systems and environmental supports to park districts, summer camps and after school sites. These fun interactive nutrition education sessions keep children moving as they learn about the importance of healthy eating to promote their growth and development. The technical assistance provided, help make lasting structural changes at the site that encourage a healthier lifestyle.
Healthy Schools Intervention
CPHP extends its services outside of the classroom by offering nutrition education and support to park districts, summer camps and after school sites. These fun interactive nutrition education sessions keep children moving as they learn about the importance of healthy eating to promote children’s healthy growth and development. Other focus areas include summer meals promotion and policy/advocacy for creating healthy environments.
Community Adults Intervention
The Community Adults Intervention worked to help SNAP-eligible adults have healthy diets and be physically active. The Intervention prioritized a number of settings, including but not limited to senior living and transitional housing sites. Within these settings, nutrition and physical activity were promoted through direct education, as well as through strategies to create healthier environments for adults to live within.
Faith Based Intervention
Working in partnership with local faith-based intuitions, CPHP promoted healthy eating, physical activity and obesity prevention in communities of faith. Based on the Faithful Families program, CPHP worked with faith-based leaders, health ministries, and congregants to provide engaging health education and create policy, system, and environmental changes that support healthy behaviors at faith-based organizations.
Food Systems Intervention
The Food Systems intervention worked in the community garden and urban farm sector to offer technical assistance to improve food security and access in CPHP target communities. The intervention worked to expand home based gardening through gardening education and the Grow Your Groceries program. The intervention worked with community organizations on food-based, health and wellness initiatives.
Healthy Food Access Intervention
The Food Access Intervention targeted local food pantries, corner stores and other retail and emergency food sites where community members actively make food choices. At these sites we aimed to improve the availability of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat foods; nudge community members to choose healthier items by employing recipes, signage and nutrition education; alter the food environment by improving the display and placement of healthy foods.

Contact

Daylan Dufelmeier
Former Director, Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion
312.355.3659
Daylan@uic.edu

• Faith based organizations

• Beauty & Barber Shops

• Senior Centers

Past Funding:

US Department of Agriculture/Illinois Department of Human Services (USDA)

CPHP was supported by funding received from the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (formerly Food Stamps) through a grant to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). IDHS contracted with UIC for program delivery, monitoring and evaluation.