Through our involvement with ConnectWell, Let’s Move in Libraries is helping ConnectWell gain more  experience with their library-based Wellness Challenges. Participating in this project  will enable libraries to deploy ready-made programs that engage people in healthy lifestyle practices at the library. Consider joining this great opportunity to build community and social support while helping your patrons expand their nutrition literacy and improve their eating habits!

1) Have other libraries done this before?

Other libraries have worked with ConnectWell to use their Wellness Challenges! Here’s an example of how a Pennsylvania library used the Move More challenge during Summer 2024.

2) What are the expectations of participating libraries?

We hope to work with you to help you offer a five-week Healthy Eating Challenge for your community sometime in February / March 2025. All resources are prepared and ready for you to go! We hope that rural libraries could get 10 participants, suburban 20, and urban 30. Families are welcome – healthy eating is a family affair, and a family unit counts as 1 participant.

3) What do I have to do to get ready to offer this challenge?

To make the training fun and exciting we would like you to join a community of approximately 30 public library workers from across North America in a five-week Healthy Eating Challenge in January 2025! Dr. Noah Lenstra will be joining the challenge as well. This immersive experience will be fun, engaging, and give you the information you need to lead the challenge in your community February / March 2025. You will also be asked to attend a one-hour overview and training session and spend approximately 5 hours during the month of December reading through the program materials so that you feel comfortable using it at your library.

4) How is the program structured? 

The five-week program starts with a basic overview of nutrition – presented in a fun, engaging format – followed by a discussion of the challenge and getting ready to try new things for breakfast. The second week focuses on lunch. The third focuses on dinner. The fourth focuses on snacks. And the last week is a celebration! Throughout all five weeks, participants will use a two-page challenge handout to keep track of their commitments to try new healthy foods, starting with breakfast, then expanding to lunch, then dinner, and finally snacks.

5) What will I get from participating?

You will gain access to fun, engaging evidence-based information you can use to support nutrition and healthy eating. You will gain experience implementing  programming related to healthy eating. You will get to engage with public library workers from across North America that are participating in this project. You will get access to free training on leading nutrition and health challenges.

6) Is this a research project?

No! We will not ask you to collect any information from your library patrons who participate. We are doing this simply to learn more about the needs and interests of public libraries, and hopefully to find more effective ways to bring our evidence-based content – which covers everything from nutrition to physical activity to mental health to healthy use of technology – into more library communities.

We have a participant survey that we ask participants to fill out at the end of the Challenge. This will help us understand participant engagement in the program and their expanded nutrition knowledge and ability to adopt healthier eating habits. We will assess the implementation as well as general feedback of the Challenge.

7) What do I do next?

If you’re ready to sign up, sign up for our orientation / kick-off will take place on December 9 at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific. Register here.

If you want more information, watch the recording of a 45-minute information meeting held November 7. You can also reach out directly to Andrea Bloom, Founder & CEO ConnectWell, or contact us.

8) What happens after I sign up?

A one-hour session to provide an overview of the challenge and training for facilitators will take place in early December. You will receive an email to attend.

We hope you’ll join us.