Our Successes

Well-Being Improvement Highlights

More people report they are thriving in Corry: a jump from 44.7 percent in 2019 to 61.9 percent in 2022. What’s decreasing? Incidence of high cholesterol and worries over money. What’s improving? Sense of community is greater.

• 43.5 percent of residents report that the community where they live is perfect for them, an increase of 10.1 percentage points from 33.4 percent in 2019.
• High cholesterol significantly increases the risk of heart disease, but the number of Corry residents with high cholesterol in 2022 is less than half of what it was in 2019, decreasing from 27.3 percent to 11.8 percent.
• 52.9 percent of residents report that someone in their life encourages them to be healthy, up 11.7 percentage points from 41.2 percent in 2019.
• Fewer Corry residents report worrying about money in the last week: 27.8 per-cent in 2022 versus 41.2 percent in 2019, a decrease of 13.4 percentage points. Concern over finances is a common source of stress and has a significant impact on well-being.

People

Blue Zones Project encourages people to optimize their homes and social environments via the Personal Pledge, provides opportunities for individuals to discover meaning at Purpose Workshops, facilitates volunteer experiences to help people connect with the community, and offers programs that deliver support through healthy social networks.

	Move more. Fifty-one Walking Moais were created, building long-lasting friendships while exploring our community on foot.
	Eat better. Cooking classes and demonstrations brought individuals together to learn to cook new plant-based dishes. Nearly 360 Corry residents attended a plant-based cooking demonstration.
	Connect and have the right outlook. More than 200 people sought to discover their gifts at a Purpose Workshop and put their skills to work by giving back to Corry through volunteer work. With more than 465 hours donated, volunteers in Corry have generated $13,926.75 in value for the community.

Today, 62-percent of Corry residents report they are thriving in life, compared to just 45 percent in 2019.

Places

In Corry, a critical mass of worksites, schools, restaurants, and grocery stores have optimized their environments for healthy living. By working together to make permanent or semi-permanent changes, healthy choices have become the easy choices in all the places we live, work, learn, and play.

Policy

Blue Zones Project works with city leaders to implement evidence-based practices to impact food policy, tobacco policy, and the built environment.

By improving community infrastructure and public policies, Blue Zones Project maximizes the ability of our community’s residents to move naturally, connect socially, access healthy food, and improve quality of life.

Built Environment:

• Since 2019, Corry’s Walk Score went from 65 (somewhat walkable) to 72 (very walkable). The community’s Bike Score also saw significant improvement over the same time period.
• Summer trail usage increased 9.3 percent between 2019 and 2021.
• Winter trail usage increased 205 percent between 2020 and 2022.
• Corry was the first WalkWorks grant recipient in Erie County and was the only plan to finish on time in 2020 despite the pandemic.
• Seven additional miles of bike infrastructure is currently under construction.

Food Policy:

• Blue Zones Project staff won a $1,000 grant for Corry’s Farmer’s Market to purchase two new handwashing stations, hand sanitizer, and signage to meet Pennsylvania’s new COVID-19 standards and remain open during the pandemic.
• Provided guidance to the Corry YMCA on creating a nutrition program for its daycare designed to meet nutritional needs, reduce risk of developing diet-related disease, and establish healthy habits early in life. This work was accomplished through a grant from the Erie County Food Policy Advisory Council, and the YMCA received $15,000 in grant funding to create farm-to-school and farm-to-family programming.
• Blue Zones Project Corry’s food policy committee built a solid relationship with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwestern Pennsylvania, allowing adaptive drive-thru Produce Express events that strengthened local access to healthy food regardless of income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tobacco Policy:

• Tobacco cessation. Blue Zones Project organized tobacco cessation classes in Corry, both in person and virtually, eliminating the travel barrier to get to Erie. Successful reduction in smoking rates has the potential to reduce healthcare costs by nearly $6,000 per smoker, per year.
• Tobacco-free ordinances. With support from Blue Zones Project, the City of Corry implemented new policies requiring all city-owned or leased properties and city-sponsored events to become smoke-free. The initiative also required new signage to be placed at city parks and building entrances.
• Engaging young people in shaping future tobacco legislation. Tobacco Policy Committee members and students attended a Tobacco 21 rally, providing the opportunity to meet with several state legislators and the governor.
• Community efforts like these led to a substantial decrease in tobacco use. Since 2019, rates in Corry dropped from 21.4 percent to just 15.7 percent, landing well below state and national tobacco use rates during the same time frame.