Members of the McLean County Health Department’s employee-comprised marketing committee are serious about raising awareness around public health. The committee publicly launched a summer program in their hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, focused on publicaly recognizing the individual choices people make every day that, taken together, create a positive effect on health.

The first of these “pop-up” events as they called them, was held on May 21, 2015 at the Bloomington Hy-Vee grocery store.

Lisa Slater, Public Health Communications Specialist, chairs the marketing committee and explained the event this way,

“We wanted to get out into the community and shine a light on individuals who are making good decisions everyday when it comes to their health and the health of their families.” 

At the Hy-Vee pop-up, Lisa’s team surprised shoppers they saw taking positive health action — things like putting a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables in their cart, or using hand sanitizer in the store.  To promote home food safety, team members gave each person they stopped a meat thermometer and the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures/Safe Cooking Guidelines handout, to promote the importance of using food thermometers when cooking to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Shoppers that were “caught” in the act of doing the right thing for their health also received an “I am Public Health” t-shirt.

Do the right thing for your health — your partners in public health are ready to support you!