The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is pleased to announce the expansion of its WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Project into five additional counties: Antrim, Charlevoix, Crawford, Missaukee, and Otsego. The Gardening Project enables program participants to improve their knowledge about nutrition, save money by growing their own fruits and vegetables, and supplement their income by selling their extra fruits and vegetables at local farmer's market.

"The Gardening Project is an exciting component of the WISEWOMAN program because participants have the opportunity to not only learn gardening skills but also prepare healthy meals with the fruits and vegetables they grow," said Janet Olszewski, MDCH Director. "We are thrilled to be able to expand this project into more counties."

MDCH has administered the WISEWOMAN Program since 2001. The program, which screens nearly 5,000 women annually and is located in 29 counties across Michigan, helps low-income women understand and make healthy lifestyle choices with a focus on nutrition, physical activity, and smoking cessation.

In 2008, the WISEWOMAN Program implemented the Gardening Project in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) Extension in Ogemaw County. MSU Extension Educators and Master Gardeners provide training to Gardening Project participants on nutrition, gardening basics, and marketing skills. Using a $52,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WISEWOMAN and MSU Extension are able to expand the project to the five counties in northern Michigan.

"We are really excited about this partnership with MSU Extension and what it means for the WISEWOMAN participants," WISEWOMAN Program Director Paulette Valliere said. "In the short run, this project allows the WISEWOMAN participants to bring in some extra money. In the long run, we believe it can help address some of the social determinants of health that keep women locked in the cycle of poverty and poor health."

For more information about the WISEWOMAN Program, please visit http://www.michigancancer.org/bcccp/WiseWomanProgram/index.cfm.