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YSU Guin Fit
Welcome to Guin Fit!
Guin Fit is a community wellness initiative led by Youngstown State University and funded through the CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) 2023–2028 cooperative agreement. Our mission is to reduce chronic disease and advance health equity in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties by promoting nutrition security, safe and accessible physical activity, and family-centered wellness.
What We Do
- Partner with community organizations, leaders, and residents to create policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes that make healthy options easier to access.
- Support nutrition and food access efforts such as food service guidelines, produce prescriptions, and culturally appropriate food distribution.
- Promote physical activity opportunities by enhancing walkability, bikeability, and active transportation.
- Deliver family wellness programming that help families build healthier eating and movement habits.
What We Don't Do:
- Provide direct medical care or emergency services.
- Offer individual personal training or private nutrition counseling.
- Operate as a food pantry or direct food distributor.
- Replace the role of healthcare providers—our work is designed to complement, not substitute, medical advice and treatment.
We hope you’ll join us in building healthier communities across the Mahoning Valley!
Food & Nutrition
Maintaining a balanced, healthy diet can often be a challenge, one that is only compounded by limited access to healthy foods. Food security is an issue that affects families not only in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding areas, but nationwide. The Guin Fit team seeks to address these issues, giving families in our area access to numerous resources, such as:
- Food Services;
- Nutrition Guidelines/Education;
- Expanding Fruit & Vegetable Vouchers and Produce Prescription Programs.
It is through providing these resources that we assist families who may not have the same access to or awareness of healthy foods and nutrition, thereby building a stronger, healthier community.
Physical Activity
We all know how critical physical activity is for people of all ages. Whether it’s lifting weights, playing basketball, or just taking a walk around the neighborhood, maintaining an active lifestyle will provide a healthy and improved quality of life well into the future. Despite this, many folks are unable to get the exercise they need due to lack of safe trails, crosswalks, equipment, and more. This especially impacts individuals from rural areas and racial or ethnic minority groups. Through our efforts, we hope to raise awareness and facilitate the improvement of several components that impact an active lifestyle, such as:
- Safe trails, bike paths, and parks, etc.;
- Improved pedestrian infrastructure, including safe sidewalks and crosswalks;
- Access to community destinations such as parks, schools, gyms, playgrounds, and more;
- Education on various exercising and routines for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
We believe in building a community where everyone has the opportunity to build a healthy lifestyle. Through these efforts, we hope to create safer locations where people can live a healthy life.
Upcoming Event : Moving Active Transportation Forward Workshop
Hosted by YSU Guin Fit, Healthy Community Partnership, and the League of American Bicyclists, the purpose of the workshop is to engage local leaders, advocates, and residents to explore how biking and infrastructure shape the health and mobility across the Tri-county area. This event was made possible with funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Guest Speaker: Ken Mcleod, Policy Director at the League of American Bicyclists
When: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 | 9:00AM - 3:00PM
Where: Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 5th Ave, Youngstown, Ohio 44504
RSVP: Click this Link to Register
Contact: Dalton Campana | dacampana@ysu.edu | (330) 941 - 1980
Pop-up Demonstration Summary
Safer Streets Series is a pop-up project designed to bring the community together and test creative approaches to safer street designs. It aims to implement temporary changes, such as creative crosswalks, bike lanes, or road diets, based on safety measures recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. The demonstration seeks to advocate for future improvements in transportation safety, showcase potential road designs, gather community feedback, and provide a fun day for the neighborhood.
Family Wellness
Health starts at home, and with many children suffering from childhood obesity across the country, family-centered health behavior and lifestyle treatment programs are vital to creating healthier communities. These programs are achieved by ensuring the following:
- That children and families have access to healthy nutrition and safe physical activity
- That families follow the recommendations to assess and treat children with obesity
Healthy families lead to healthy communities. Our staff is eager to assist families in developing family health and weight plans, and we look forward to working with you to achieve your health goals.
If you would like to support the initiatives provided by YSU Guin Fit - please contact us at guinfit@ysu.edu
If needed, here is the ACA Compatible Parent or Guardian Consent Form.
Welcome to Guin Fit!
Guin Fit is a community wellness initiative led by Youngstown State University and funded through the CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) 2023–2028 cooperative agreement. Our mission is to reduce chronic disease and advance health equity in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties by promoting nutrition security, safe and accessible physical activity, and family-centered wellness.
What We Do
- Partner with community organizations, leaders, and residents to create policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes that make healthy options easier to access.
- Support nutrition and food access efforts such as food service guidelines, produce prescriptions, and culturally appropriate food distribution.
- Promote physical activity opportunities by enhancing walkability, bikeability, and active transportation.
- Deliver family wellness programming that help families build healthier eating and movement habits.
What We Don't Do:
- Provide direct medical care or emergency services.
- Offer individual personal training or private nutrition counseling.
- Operate as a food pantry or direct food distributor.
- Replace the role of healthcare providers—our work is designed to complement, not substitute, medical advice and treatment.
Food & Nutrition
Maintaining a balanced, healthy diet can often be a challenge, one that is only compounded by limited access to healthy foods. Food security is an issue that affects families not only in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding areas, but nationwide. The Guin Fit team seeks to address these issues, giving families in our area access to numerous resources, such as:
- Food Services;
- Nutrition Guidelines/Education;
- Expanding Fruit & Vegetable Vouchers and Produce Prescription Programs.
It is through providing these resources that we assist families who may not have the same access to or awareness of healthy foods and nutrition, thereby building a stronger, healthier community.
Physical Activity
We all know how critical physical activity is for people of all ages. Whether it’s lifting weights, playing basketball, or just taking a walk around the neighborhood, maintaining an active lifestyle will provide a healthy and improved quality of life well into the future. Despite this, many folks are unable to get the exercise they need due to lack of safe trails, crosswalks, equipment, and more. This especially impacts individuals from rural areas and racial or ethnic minority groups. Through our efforts, we hope to raise awareness and facilitate the improvement of several components that impact an active lifestyle, such as:
- Safe trails, bike paths, and parks, etc.;
- Improved pedestrian infrastructure, including safe sidewalks and crosswalks;
- Access to community destinations such as parks, schools, gyms, playgrounds, and more;
- Education on various exercising and routines for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
We believe in building a community where everyone has the opportunity to build a healthy lifestyle. Through these efforts, we hope to create safer locations where people can live a healthy life.
Upcoming Event : Moving Active Transportation Forward Workshop
Hosted by YSU Guin Fit, Healthy Community Partnership, and the League of American Bicyclists, the purpose of the workshop is to engage local leaders, advocates, and residents to explore how biking and infrastructure shape the health and mobility across the Tri-county area. This event was made possible with funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Guest Speaker: Ken Mcleod, Policy Director at the League of American Bicyclists
When: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 | 9:00AM - 3:00PM
Where: Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 5th Ave, Youngstown, Ohio 44504
RSVP: Click this Link to Register
Contact: Dalton Campana | dacampana@ysu.edu | (330) 941 - 1980
Pop-up Demonstration Summary
Safer Streets Series is a pop-up project designed to bring the community together and test creative approaches to safer street designs. It aims to implement temporary changes, such as creative crosswalks, bike lanes, or road diets, based on safety measures recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. The demonstration seeks to advocate for future improvements in transportation safety, showcase potential road designs, gather community feedback, and provide a fun day for the neighborhood.
Family Wellness
Health starts at home, and with many children suffering from childhood obesity across the country, family-centered health behavior and lifestyle treatment programs are vital to creating healthier communities. These programs are achieved by ensuring the following:
- That children and families have access to healthy nutrition and safe physical activity
- That families follow the recommendations to assess and treat children with obesity
Healthy families lead to healthy communities. Our staff is eager to assist families in developing family health and weight plans, and we look forward to working with you to achieve your health goals.
If you would like to support the initiatives provided by YSU Guin Fit - please contact us at guinfit@ysu.edu
If needed, here is the ACA Compatible Parent or Guardian Consent Form.