Healthy Hometown - Iowa
Wellmark and the Healthiest State Initiative are working to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation and enhance the well-being of Iowa residents. Whether it’s planting community gardens, making your town more walkable, or volunteering, Healthy Hometown is here to help.
So, what can we do?
Healthy Hometown has three paths communities can follow to make improvements: eat well, move more, feel better. Improvements can be made in a number of places: schools, worksites, community organizations, etc. If you're willing to do the work, we'll put you on the right path.
Examples of ways you can improve your community include:*
Eat Well
- Healthy vending options
- Community or school gardens
- Encourage non-food fundraisers
Move More
- Develop a complete streets policy — improving walkability and bikeability
- Physical activity breaks for school children
- Identify safe walking routes
Feel Better
- Create volunteer opportunities
- Start a wellness committee
- Establish nicotine-free areas
* Just an example of more than 100 evidence-based possibilities.
Get assistance from the experts
Experts are available to help in prioritizing and implementing a plan to make healthy choices available and easy for residents to adopt. All of this is available at no cost. Click Get Assistance to fill out the form and take the next step.
Committed to community improvement — community successes
Healthy Hometown uses proven strategies to help communities change the environment to make healthy choices easier in both Iowa and South Dakota. Find out how Iowa communities Bettendorf, Grundy Center and Hiawatha earned a 2023 Healthy HometownSM Powered by Wellmark Community Award.
Previous winners
Find out what positive changes these communities have made to earn the Healthy Hometown Community Award in the past.- Dallas Center - 2022 opens in new window
- Iowa Great Lakes Region - 2022 opens in new window
- Manning - 2022 opens in new window
- Cass County - 2021 opens in new window
- Waterloo - 2021 opens in new window
- Waverly - 2021 opens in new window
- Manning - 2020 opens in new window
- Waverly - 2020 opens in new window
- West Union - 2020 opens in new window
- Algona - 2019 opens in new window
- Knoxville - 2019 opens in new window
- Mason City - 2019 opens in new window
- Cedar Rapids - 2018 opens in new window
- Mason City - 2018 opens in new window
- Sioux City - 2018 opens in new window
The 2023 Healthy HometownSM Powered by Wellmark Community Awards winners were announced April 20, 2023.
Contact us
Still wondering if Healthy Hometown is right for your community? We are happy to help answer any questions. All you need to do is email us at HealthyHometown@wellmark.com Send Email.
