Faithful Families recognize that faith communities play a special role in supporting their community's health and decreasing health disparities.  The program looks to connect faith and health within our community, hoping to inspire faith communities to be health champions for individuals, families and local communities.  Collaboration with all religious communities through direct education, environmental supports, and community-wide efforts to prevent chronic disease.  Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) facilitates the Faithful Families, Thriving Communities Program, a 9-week nutrition and physical education curriculum with a network of faith-based institutions implementing the Eat Smart Move More curriculum from NC State Cooperative Extension Program.

The program is open to all religious traditions who include all individuals within our community.  Faithful Families believe that communities of faith are important health advocates, particularly in communities affected by health disparities or lacking access to crucial resources.  Our goal is for all citizens in our community to know that Faithful Families is in place to support community health, works to decrease health disparities, and helps individuals live healthy and thriving lives. 

Faithful Families impacts communities of faith and engages individuals across the socio-ecological model, with a variety of efforts focused on chronic disease prevention.  The program empowers faith communities to become changemakers to help their communities thrive physically, mentally, and spiritually.  This collaboration offers unique resources and perspectives to connect a community with messages and changes to support long-term health and chronic disease prevention.  These changes can have long-term impacts on families and communities and decrease the risk of developing chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

-There were 2,301 families impacted from this program in 2023.

-88% of program graduates in 2023 showed improvement in making healthy food choices.