Get Healthy Utah, in conjunction with the Utah League of Cities and Towns, is pleased to announce the newest Healthy Utah Community designees. Six cities and towns qualified this spring: Mapleton, Orem, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, South Jordan, and West Point. 

Mapleton

Mapleton offers its residents many community events and amenities that support healthy living.

There is 6.1-mile trail system through the community, and the city developed a masterplan to further expand the trail system over the next five years. To encourage residents to get outside and use it, the city hosts an annual "Chalk the Walk" event where residents gather at the trail to decorate its path with colorful chalk creations.

To support access to healthy food, Mapleton hosts a farmer's market every Monday during the summer and hosted a food drive to support their local food pantry. Senior lunches and a senior gym are also available for residents to use at their Senior Gym Center.

To promote general wellness and good mental health, the city hosts a "Burn Bright" event each holiday season. Community members can right down their bad habits and put them in a box. That box is added to the old community Christmas tree, then burned as a community bonfire. Following, residents are encouraged to record their New Year's resolutions on goal plaques. 

Orem

Orem City is busy doing many things to support health in their community! To support physical activity, the city offers  free and low-cost community sports programs for adults and children, addressed active transportation connectivity gaps between key destinations, and adopted an ordinance that requires all new subdivisions to provide sidewalks and lights.

To support access to healthy food, Orem established a farmer’s market that accepts SNAP benefits, actively promotes enrollment in SNAP, WIC, and other food access programs for those in need, and implemented a new worksite wellness strategy around healthy eating among city employees.

Orem City also prioritizes mental health by training first responders on mental health crises and suicide prevention, hosting senior lunch gatherings, and beautifying several social gathering spaces including its local parks.

Saratoga Springs

Saratoga Springs is proud to offer its residents many opportunities to live a healthy lifestyle. Recently, the city added an important trail segment that connects the northern and central trail systems in the community, and each year they host a "Get to the River" campaign that encourages residents to recreate along the Jordan River and its scenic pathways.

To promote food access, the Westlake High School manages a food pantry for families in need, and the city's ordinances allow for backyard animal husbandry.

Mental health is also important to Saratoga Springs. Their Communities that Care coalition hosts a social media campaign every May to destigmatize and raise awareness for mental health challenges, and the Saratoga Springs Police and Fire Departments host annual trainings on mental health crises and suicide prevention to help keep community members safe.

Smithfield

Smithfield works hard to make sure every resident has access to fun ways to stay healthy! The city offers many adult and youth sports programs and even offers a youth scholarship to make sure no child is turned away if they can't meet the costs. They also have a joint-use agreement between the Cache County School District and their local community recreation center, making sure youth have access to sports facilities.

To support access to food and good nutrition, Smithfield runs a food pantry out of one of their city buildings and provides cooking, nutrition, and gardening classes at their library and recreation center.

To promote social connection and good mental health, Smithfield provides a senior citizen luncheon every week and partnered with Blomquist Hale to offer mental and physical wellness workshops to city employees. 

South Jordan

South Jordan offers several fun and exciting ways to stay physically active! Every year, they offer the SoJo Race Series, a year-round series of kids runs, 5ks, and 10ks. They also host a Winter Fitness Challenge where residents can set and meet exercise goals during the cold winter months and report back to receive prizes.

To promote healthy food access, South Jordan has a weekly farmer's market during the summer, passed ordinances that make it easy for local residents to operate their own produce stand sell home-grown fruits and vegetables, and partnered with the Salt Lake County Aging Services to offer weekday lunches for seniors in the community.

South Jordan also makes strong efforts to support mental health and safety. They offer onsite and remote wellness classes to their employees, handout free gunlocks to community members, and set up local medication disposal boxes.

West Point

West Point plans ahead to make sure its residents have opportunities to be physically active! The city contributed financially to the building of a new Jr. High School, guaranteeing use of the gym, exercise equipment and office space during non-school hours for various community recreation activities. They also joined surrounding communities to create the North Davis Active Transportation Implementation Plan in a regional effort to make bicycling, walking and other forms of active transportation safer and easier for Northern Davis County residents.

To support access to healthy food, West Point chose one person from each of its departments to serve on the Healthy West Point Team whose purpose is to promote healthy eating and raise awareness among employees about its benefits. Their city codes also allow for backyard farm animals and bee hives, providing increased access to fresh eggs, dairy, meat products, and honey.

West Point has also made strides to support social connection and mental wellbeing. The city hosts a monthly senior lunch for older community members and is increasing awareness of mental health resources with signage, social media posts, newsletter items and emails to residents.