VALDOSTA — You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for life. This is the philosophy of the Partnership for Healthy Living.

“Partnership for Healthy Living (formerly the Healthy Living Task Force) is a committee of the Lowndes County Partnership for Health comprised of a cross section of community leaders that are committed to improving the levels of physical activity and proper nutrition in the Valdosta/Lowndes County area,” said Diane Howard, Partnership for Healthy Living chair.

The task force began in 2005 when the Lowndes County Partnership for Health and Public Health formed the Slim Down Lowndes Obesity Task Force through funding from the state to develop a community plan to combat obesity. In 2007, Public Health received funding from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation to implement part of a plan dealing with combating obesity in middle school students.

“The task force helped to oversee the implementation of the grant,” said Howard.

In 2009, the original task force was renamed the Healthy Living Task Force in order to broaden its

mission to include the prevention of chronic disease. In late 2009, Public Health received funding from the Georgia Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative to partner with the Healthy Living Task Force to develop and implement a plan to improve levels of healthy eating and physical activity in Valdosta and Lowndes County.

In 2012, the task force became the Partnership for Healthy Living and currently impacts South Georgia through six ongoing programs: Gardens in the Community, Farm Days, South Georgia Healthy Living Youth Leadership Team, Partnership Adventure, Lunch and Learn, and Kitchen Capers.

The Partnership for Healthy Living made its way to the Boys and Girls Club last year.

“In January 2011, a 220-pot Portable Home Garden unit was placed at the Valdosta Boys and Girls Club Lake Laurie unit as part of the first ConAgra Foods Foundation Community Impact grant project: ConAgra Heart and Hands,” said Howard.

In addition to the 220-pot PHG unit, a raised bed garden was re-established at Lake Laurie and collards were planted.

“The first time youth harvested fresh vegetables which they had planted was in January and later in March 2011,” said Howard. “The youth participated in the harvesting, cleaning and preparation for the cooking process.”

Out of that, every youth was able to carry home a bag of collards and a recipe for cooking healthy collards.

Also in March 2011, 12 smaller PHG units with 12 pots each and 12 four-pot tomato planters were placed at 12 sites which included the Valdosta Boys and Girls Club Barwick Road unit and David S. Waller unit.

“Connecting a person with the food-production process increased the likelihood of the person eating the food,” said Howard. “If a child plants, picks or prepares a vegetable, that youth is more likely to eat the vegetables.”

In addition, if the child does more than one plant and picks and prepares all of them, the likelihood increases even more. If a child participates in the food-production process and takes home the food, the likelihood of the family eating the vegetables also increases.

“Therefore, the child may not be learning the finer points of how to grow and harvest, but the child is learning how to eat,” said Howard. “Eating healthy is the lesson to be learned.”

Kitchen Capers by the Partnership for Health really pushes growing and eating healthy food at a young age.

“If a child eats fruits and vegetables at a young age, he/she will be more likely to continue eating these healthy foods through life,” said Howard.

So far, the Valdosta Boys and Girls Club has grown and harvested collards, onions, white acre peas, tomatoes, green peppers, watermelons, yellow squash, turnips and mustard. The five units in the Valdosta Boys and Girls Club as well as all after-school and summer youth programs are involved in Gardens in the Community, South Georgia Healthy Living Youth Leadership Team, Partnership Adventure and Kitchen Capers.

More recently, the Partnership for Health helped the Boys and Girl Club of Valdosta’s Lake Laurie Youth Complex grow and harvest a snap pea crop. Kindergartners through fifth-graders were taught the planning, planting, maintaining, harvesting and preparation of a true Southern, traditional dinner side.

Through these projects, the Partnership for Health continues evaluating community physical activity and nutritional needs while promoting cost-efficient solutions.

“This is a perfect example of how a collaborative effort between agencies can provide a deeply impactful experience for our community and kids,” said Matt Jansen, vice president of development and marketing for Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta.