Livewell Longmont

Active Living

With over 300 days a year filled with sunshine, and plenty of local resources, Longmont is a low key, friendly community that prides itself on the many accessible and affordable healthy eating and healthy living options. But many in our community struggle to find the time to take that first important step toward fully embracing that lifestyle which is associated with the “Colorado Lifestyle.”  

LiveWell Longmont defines active living as a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily life, which we know can be hard for people to schedule into their busy lives. The good news is that LiveWell Longmont has identified lots of ways to help you with increasing your day?to?day physical activity level, which can lead to an overall healthier lifestyle, as well as counter one of the largest contributors to obesity and associated chronic disease which is a lack of active living (and healthy eating). 

Active Transportation

Our community boasts a richness of active living and “active transportation” options – transportation that requires human power, such as walking, biking, or public transit. From scenic bike paths that run through all parts of our community, to the affordable public and private recreation facilities, to our vibrant downtown that encourages walking, Longmont enjoys a transportation system that includes an extensive, interconnected network of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities in conjunction with roads, allowing our residents multiple opportunities to increase healthy activity in their day to day lives. 

LiveWell Longmont’s Community Successes:

LiveWell Longmont enjoys a strong partnership with the City of Longmont, which has resulted in a number of successes:

• LWL is partnering with the City of Longmont in authoring a new healthy eating and active living chapter for the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan, to bring attention to how the city’s codes and regulations can support the community to be healthier.  Adoption of this new chapter will lead to further policy and environmental changes that support healthy eating and active living choices.  Key concepts proposed in this chapter include
  • Help Longmont become a healthier community where healthy eating and active living are an accessible choice for everyone
  • Provide a variety of transportation choices
  • Integrate land use and transportation so that activity can be easily incorporated into people’s daily lives
  • Promote access to healthy food
  • Support the local food system

As of late 2011, LWL is continuing to work with the various boards and commissions in our community advocating for inclusion of this chapter in the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan. To learn more, please visit: http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/planning/lacp/laecpdates.htm

Resources and Tools

• Current City of Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan 
• Bike Map
• Download the LiveWell Colorado Built Environment Policy Blueprint

Healthy Eating

Not only is Longmont’s history rich with agriculture and food production, but the city currently supports a vibrant and active local food system, from many nationally recognized locally run and organic farms, local produce-focused restaurants, and a popular weekly farmers' market. Longmont’s history is one of the main reasons why LiveWell Longmont has chosen to explore Healthy Eating through our local food system. LiveWell Longmont is dedicated to the development of our local food system that ensures that all Longmont residents have access to affordable, fresh, nutritious, and culturally relevant food, all of which helps Longmont maintain its reputation as being a top place to live, learn, work and play. 

Our Healthy Eating Successes

Since 2009, LiveWell Longmont has engaged a group to specifically investigate issues surrounding Longmont’s local food systems. This group includes city staff, county staff, local organizations, food assistance groups, and an outside consultant hired to help develop the process. The group examined accessibility to Longmont’s local food system to help promote healthy eating - specifically increasing fruit and vegetable intake - in Longmont.  The following recommendations are currently being developed and pursued by us and our partners:

• Pilot a neighborhood-based food system
• Provide granting support for Spanish-speaking healthy eating classes taught by Chef Mary Collette Rogers, Eating Well Every Day and co-sponsored by El Comite and the Longmont YMCA
• Develop a city-wide local and healthy foods awareness and strategy campaign
• Engage champions within the city of Longmont

Resources and Tools

• Longmont YMCA Farm
• LiveWell Longmont's Food Systems Reports
• Everyday Good Eating with Chef Mary Collette Rogers 
• National Food Day
• Grow Your Own Meal
• Boulder County Farmers' Market