Located inside the Mary Free Bed YMCA, a branch of the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, the Carol Van Andel Healthy Living Center is providing unique programs and services to its community. The intention is to reduce the growing obesity epidemic and combat preventable chronic disease through nutrition, physical activity and education.
The center features three stand-out amenities including a teaching kitchen, greenhouse and learning farm. The universally-designed teaching kitchen helps community members learn how to make healthy, affordable meals that will feed an entire family, no matter the size. The fully-accessible greenhouse teaches children and adults to plant, grow, and harvest fresh and pesticide-free vegetables and herbs. Lastly, the learning farm provides farm-to-table programming for all, volunteer experiences and entrepreneurial training for small-scale, startup farmers.
Nancy Maiquez, the operations director of community engagement for the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, said the unique nature of these combined amenities is quite remarkable. “The center creates access to an array of health interventions for our community they might otherwise not have access to — from learning how to cook healthy meals to discovering how to properly grow herbs and plants and housing our mobile farmers market, the Veggie Van,” shared Maiquez. “Not only are Y members able to enjoy these areas, but our team has also opened the spaces to individuals from urban areas of our city who are able to equally leverage the benefits of learning to be healthier.”
Maiquez added the center also busses and hosts 25 to 30 high school students each summer to enjoy six-weeks of no-cost programming. “They learn post-secondary career options, how to cook healthy meals for their families, financial literacy, how to complete the FAFSA and are trained to care for school-age children by taking babysitting certification courses,” said Maiquez. “Many have also learned to swim for the first time.”
Overall, Maiquez emphasized the Healthy Living Center truly allows the Y to provide a holistic experience for its community. “We’re able to provide a member with whatever they need to create holistic mental and physical well-being, whether it be a fitness center, pool or a kitchen/greenhouse,” she said. “There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to a person’s mental or physical wellness, but our facility allows for as much flexibility as possible.”
Exceeding the Physical Space
Maiquez shared the Healthy Living Center isn’t just where programming happens because it also houses an entire community engagement department.
“Our team not only utilizes the space for the sake of innovative programming but it also houses a team of people who then go out into our most promising communities and provides everything we have on site at off-site locations such as schools, churches, community centers and libraries,” said Maiquez. “We have afterschool programs, we teach hundreds of kids how to cook, we partner with dozens of school districts to help fill the health education gap, and provide physical activity to youth and adults at no cost.”
