Our journey began in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when Brett and Jesse decided to perform a study on the connection between socioeconomic inequalities and access to healthy foods and physical activity. Results from the study titled “Food, Physical Activity, and Health Deserts in Alabama: The Spatial Link Between Healthy Eating, Exercise, and Socioeconomic Factors” found that socioeconomic inequalities significantly limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables and physical fitness for various communities across the State of Alabama. As a result, Brett and Jesse formed a working group with Jeremy to help promote sustainable and decentralized forms of food production and consumption for disparate communities within Alabama.
Baled It!, as our group became known, is a nonprofit organization based out of Montgomery, Alabama that seeks to collaborate with other entities and organizations in the region toward the goal of empowering people who live within health deserts to improve their quality of life through novel, cost-effective ways of growing food, participating in physical activity, and enhancing mental well-being.
How?
- Food insecurity: Straw bale gardens
- Physical inactivity: Outdoor fitness activities using readily available nontraditional equipment.
- Mental health disparities: Combinations of gardening, fitness activities, meditative practices, and other simple, free or inexpensive mental health services and advocacy.
Through the use of inexpensive methods for growing healthy foods and participating in daily physical activity, we build stronger and healthier communities.
Let’s build something together.
Baled It! 