Community Impact: Health

Access to healthy food, quality health care, financial education, and a supportive educational system enables all Passaic County residents of all ages (children, teenagers, adults and seniors) to thrive, and lead healthy lifestyles.

Did You Know:

• 18% of low-income preschool children (ages 2 – 5 years) in New Jersey are obese.

• Across the state, 15.4% of children (ages 10 – 17) are obese and only 29.1% of children (ages 6 -17) participate in vigorous physical activity every day.

• Almost 30% of New Jerseyans report no leisure-time physical activity or consumption of fruits and vegetables.

• The leading causes of ill-health in Passaic County are diet-related chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

• The cost of food locally, in particular for fresh vegetables and fruits, has increased by almost increased 5% since 2010 – making purchasing nutritious food even more difficult.

• Recent estimates note that ~6% of Passaic County residents experience some level of food insecurity.

• 16.5% of persons within Passaic County are below the poverty guidelines (compared to 9.4% of persons in New Jersey as a whole).

United Way of Passaic County’s goal is to promote healthy nutrition and food environment within which all County residents can have access to healthy foods and live a healthy lifestyle.
 
Learn more about our initiatives to improve health in Passaic County:
• Nutrition Matters
• Hunger-Free Seniors
• Hunger-Free Communities