Welcome to the Challenge
Cumberland County Department of Public Health and its partners have been selected to receive a $100,000 grant as part of the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge, a program funded by the Aetna Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the National Association of Counties (NACo). The program supports communities that are changing the way they work together across sectors to reduce disparities in chronic disease outcomes.
The project team leading the initiative in Cumberland County includes the Health Department, the Fort Bragg Department of Public Health and the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The team will receive $100,000 to take action to reduce food insecurity and change the food access systems in Cumberland County and Fort Bragg and engage community residents.
The partnership is one of 20 teams across the nation to receive the grants.
Proposed strategies for the project include:
- Conducting a resident-led and data-driven food system assessment
- Establishing a joint Cumberland County/Fort Bragg Food Policy Council to identify policy, systems, and environmental changes
If residents or organizations are interested in partnering in this project, please contact Martina Talbert at 
In addition to the funding, the health department and its partners will participate in one-on-one technical assistance provided by NACo and a supportive peer-learning network led by Healthy Places by Design over the course of the two years.
The Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge will award a total of $2 million to teams of organizations that will work together to change the food access and health care systems in their communities and engage community residents as leaders in their work.
An expert review panel selected the team following a rigorous review process that looked at a variety of factors including the level of innovation of their proposed approaches, intended impacts on systems and policy change, and alignment of diverse partners around common priorities. Check out the full list of grantee organizations and their community partners.
The Aetna Foundation, which first launched the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge in partnership with APHA and NACo in 2016, is an independent, charitable and philanthropic affiliate of CVS Health.
