Chickasha forms Healthy Food Retail Taskforce to access grant for parks

Chickasha City Council approved a resolution to assess residents’ access to healthy food. 

Spencer Winzenried, Chickasha Parks and Recreation Director, said the Healthy Food Retail Taskforce will assess how accessible healthy food is for residents throughout the city.

For example, members of the task force will look at how far residents have to travel to reach healthy food. This may bring to light which areas of town are  underserved in regard to healthy food, he said.

“If you have to go an extra mile to get a gallon of milk for a dollar cheaper, it’s a kind of a big deal,” Winzenried said. 

As part of adopting the resolution to form the task force, the city will receive a $120,000 grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). This money must be used for parks, Winzenried said. The city could use the funds to build an accessible playground or add a splash pad. There is no match required and the funds have to be used within a year, he said. 

The resolution barely passed, however, with a 5-4 vote from council members. There was some concern about the language in the resolution, particularly the word “regulation” within the resolution. 

Chickasha City Manager, Keith Johnson said there is nothing in the resolution that grants the task force the authority to enact any regulation for residents or food retailers. The term regulation refers to the limitations of the task force and what it is assigned to do, he said. 

Chickasha City Council also appointed several members to the Healthy Food Retail Taskforce, including: Winzenried, Chickasha Police Chief, G.G. Music, Chickasha Public Works Director, Jim Crosby, Zane Winters and Daryl Kirkpatrick. 

Source: chickashanews.com