Gov. Bentley announces grant to improve health of seniors, mental health patients in Hale County

MONTGOMERY— Gov. Robert Bentley has announced a $45,811 Appalachian Regional Commission grant for a project to improve the health of seniors and adults with mental and chronic illnesses in Hale County.  

Project Horseshoe Farm will use the grant to expand cooking and nutrition programs at a community health center in Greensboro. The farm will purchase kitchen equipment for a cooking, nutrition and education program that promotes health through wellness and prevention benefiting 100 patients each year, according to PHF officials.

“Project Horseshoe Farm will be an asset to help to many of Hale County’s most vulnerable residents,” Bentley said. “By teaching healthier eating habits, this program will help improve their quality of life and may prevent illnesses in the future.”

Officials said the program will serve as a training model for the next generation of community health care and attract students to the area to serve residents.  

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the ARC program in Alabama along with a wide range of other programs that support law enforcement, economic development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.

“This program is helping improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable residents in our state,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “ADECA’s partnership with Project Horseshoe Farm is another example of local leadership and state partnership working together to make communities better.”

The ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments. The agency’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation. 

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Contact: Russell Sellers, Mike Presley