If we are successful in fully achieving this result, we envision Mitchell County where….

• All people are living as healthy as they can by having all their basic daily needs met.
• All children in Mitchell County are clean, fed, and clothed ready to learn at school.
• People in Mitchell County are obtaining a healthy diet to support normal growth, maintaining a healthy body weight, and reducing the risk of chronic disease leading to overall health and well-being.
• Everyone has access to a quality education, safe and healthy homes, recommended amounts of physical activity and nutrition, regular health care appointments and check ups

Why is this important?

• Historically, heart disease mortality rates have been higher in Mitchell County compared to WNC and NC and they have recently risen.  The same pattern is seen among Mitchell County survey respondents: higher and rising rates of heart disease.
• The diabetes mortality rate is also climbing in Mitchell County and was 21% higher than NC in 2015-2019.
• Compared to NC and WNC, a higher proportion of survey respondents were overweight or obese: 75% in 2021.  An increasing percentage of respondents would be categorized as obese: 41% in 2021, higher compared to WNC, NC and the US. 
• 25% of survey respondents reported no leisure-time physical activity; 18% meet the physical activity recommendations.

People who eat too many unhealthy foods — like foods high in saturated fat and added sugars — are at increased risk for obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. Obesity in turn is also linked to many serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer (Healthy People 2030).

Individuals with low incomes and long work hours may have less time to prepare meals at home and less time to participate in physical activities. In addition, people in rural areas and low-income communities may be far from a grocery store that sells healthy foods. Their communities may lack formal facilities for exercise, or the roads and public spaces may not be safe to move around in (Healthy NC 2030).