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County, Blue Zones and sponsors outline health and certification plan for Coachella
Summary
Riverside University Health System and Blue Zones Project briefed the Coachella City Council on a multi‑year community well‑being program launched in 2024; the presentation covered schools, restaurants, senior outreach and measurement by the Gallup Well‑Being Index. Council pressed presenters on the city's $200,000 upfront payment and communications with residents.
Riverside University Health System public health officials and the Blue Zones Project told the Coachella City Council on March 25 that a three‑year community health initiative launched in July 2024 is on track and moving into year two.
"Our goal is to make healthy choices easy," said Dr. Sheyling Singh, deputy public health officer for Riverside County, describing the project’s use of the Gallup Well‑Being Index to measure progress. She said the program began with neighborhood assessments and built a locally staffed team through 2025.
Blue Zones Project Coachella executive director Angela Zepeda outlined local activities aimed at schools, food systems and senior outreach. She told the council five schools are registered to become Blue Zones approved and the program has certified one restaurant so far. "We hosted over 700 participants" at a Veterans Park kickoff, Zepeda said, and staff are working to meet community certification targets.
Greg Bridal, CEO of the IHP Foundation and a project sponsor, said the regional partnership is funded by a pooled model that includes managed‑care plans and health systems and that Coachella is "right on track" with the project’s metrics.
Council members asked detailed questions about the city’s $200,000 payment, governance and communication. One council member said Palm Springs appears to pay Blue Zones on an annual schedule and asked why Coachella’s payment was issued as a single check; another raised concerns about limited notice to council members and seniors about meetings and tabling events.
Zepeda said the team has invited council members to summits, maintains sector and steering committees that include a city representative, and can provide monthly reports to the city manager for distribution to the council. "We do have our events posted on our website as well as Eventbrite and social media," she said. When asked how the project reaches seniors who don’t use social media, a Blue Zones engagement lead said the team distributes printed recipes, brochures and flyers at the senior center and other local sites.
Council members discussed naming a city representative to the Blue Zones steering committee and suggested bringing the topic back as a council item to consider appointing an ad hoc council committee or a designated staff member. Zepeda said technical assistance funds are allocated by policy area — built environment, food systems, tobacco and alcohol — and provided an example of local technical funds used to replace a cooler at a nonprofit food‑distribution partner.
The council did not take action beyond the discussion; staff and Blue Zones agreed to circulate the program newsletter link and the most recent monthly report to council and to coordinate on appointing representatives.
The Blue Zones Project materials and the monthly sponsor dashboards will be available through the project website and city staff, presenters said. The city did not commit to any additional funding or contractual changes during the meeting.
