5 A Day and the Arkansas River Trail – An Innovative Partnership

What does eating fruits and vegetables have to do with trails?   Everything if it is the Arkansas River Trail Project.  The Arkansas River Trail is a project of the Headwaters Partnership whose goal is the completion of a 24-mile walking trail that will link several parks and tourist attractions, including Arkansas’ largest farmers’ market.  The Trail provides an opportunity for outdoor recreation and appreciation of nature in an urban environment while connecting communities. It promotes tourism, enhances economic growth and improves the quality of life in central Arkansas.  Signs posted along the trail remind people that they can get healthy by walking every day, not smoking, and eating 5–9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

The Arkansas 5 A Day Program is an active partner of the Headwaters Partnership.  The Headwaters Partnership supports the Arkansas River Trail through public education and outreach activities about the benefits of trail use, as well as through financial support of planning and construction projects.  It is a unique coalition of representatives from more than 20 federal, state, county, and municipal public and private organizations dedicated to the completion of the Arkansas River Trail.   Each agency has provided professional leadership, technical expertise, financial and fund-raising assistance, in-kind labor, materials, and other resources from disciplines ranging from environmental conservation and recreation, to economic development, to community health and wellness in the public and private sector.  By linking messages about healthy eating with physical activity in a natural environment, the Arkansas River Trail has become a model for other cities and states.

The Arkansas 5 A Day Program supports the Arkansas River Trail Project by: 1) promoting the Trail and encouraging Arkansans to be physically fit by regularly visiting the Trail; 2) encouraging Arkansans to frequent the River Market District’s Farmers’ Market in order to eat more fruits and vegetables, support local farmers, and help improve the environment and the economy; and 3) participating in events tailored to promotion of healthier eating habits and trail use hosted by the Headwaters Partnership. 

On May 19, 2004, hundreds of people living and working in Little Rock participated the seventh annual Out for Lunch event.  The event included a ground-breaking ceremony to kick off construction of the downtown Little Rock section of the Arkansas River Trail, as well as, educational activities designed to encourage people to reduce their risk for obesity and chronic diseases by being physically active and making healthy food choices.  Participants were treated to healthy snacks, including “salad on a stick,” prepared by staff members from the state’s 5 A Day Program. Colorful fruit and vegetable characters mingled with the crowd at the Little Rock River Market, which is home to the state’s largest farmers’ market.

Continuing with its overall mission to support the trail with special events, the Headwaters Partnership created a unique opportunity for 375 guests and members of the media on June 24, 2004 to get a spectacular view of the constructed sections of the Arkansas River Trail from the Arkansas River.  Along with noting the trail’s course, the purpose of the event was to highlight the trails connections between many of the state’s premiere tourist destinations and key federal, state, and municipal parks. A "salad-on-a-stick" appetizer, sponsored and served by colorful fruit and vegetable characters from the Arkansas 5 A Day Program was served followed by music, entertainment, dinner, and historic/specific site interpretation during the 2 1/2 hour river tour aboard U.S. Army Corps of Engineers barges.

The Headwaters Partnership has recently been nominated for the prestigious National Health and Human Services Award, “Innovation in Prevention”.  Because of this honor there may be future opportunities for health research and special studies to determine the impact of trail use by Arkansans.  The Headwaters Partnership is planning related projects over the next two years. The Arkansas River Trail Project marries the need for improved public health with specific outdoor recreation and exemplifies effective public private partnering, goals of the President’s Healthier US and Get Fit with US initiatives.