History

Healthy New Albany is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating and inspiring healthy living. We offer a variety of wellness-based community programs and events including our farmers market, food pantry, and community garden.

Grassroots Ideas, Community Action

Healthy New Albany began in 2003 with a simple but powerful idea: that walking together could lead to healthier lives. Inspired by his own passion for wellness, New Albany resident and Ohio State University professor emeritus Dr. Phil Heit organized community walks that soon evolved into the New Albany Walking Classic, an event that became both a local tradition and a catalyst for something greater.

As momentum grew, Dr. Heit connected with Craig Mohre, President of the New Albany Community Foundation, and together they convened a group of community volunteers who believed that health could become part of the town’s identity. Out of those early meetings came the vision for a farmers market, community garden, health talks, and other initiatives that brought people together around the shared goal of living well. In 2010, that grassroots movement became an official nonprofit: Healthy New Albany.

The Pantry’s Beginnings

Meanwhile, another grassroots effort was unfolding. In 2009, the Village Coalition Against Hunger began operating a food pantry out of garages and borrowed church space, later moving into a school annex. What started small quickly became a vital safety net for families facing food insecurity. By 2016, the pantry had been recognized by the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, giving it the ability to expand its reach. In 2018, the Pantry officially became part of Healthy New Albany, ensuring that food access and nutrition support would remain core to the organization’s mission.

Growing Together

From those two grassroots beginnings—neighbors walking for health and neighbors feeding neighbors—Healthy New Albany has grown into a broad community movement. Today, we offer programs and services for all ages that cultivate physical health, mental wellness, nutrition, education, and connection. Every effort reflects our belief that health is built through community.

The New Albany Walking Classic, which first inspired our organization, has been reimagined as the mission-aligned Healthy New Albany Walking Classic—now serving as our largest annual fundraiser for the Food Pantry. What began as a celebration of movement now unites our community around a shared purpose: walking together to nourish our neighbors.

The Heit Center and Beyond

In 2014, the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany opened as a community hub for health. While Healthy New Albany is an independent nonprofit, we collaborate within the Heit Center with our neighbors: The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Health and Fitness Center, Ohio State Behavioral Health, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Heit Center serves as a shared space where community organizations and healthcare partners come together to promote wellness.

Healthy New Albany continues to grow beyond our history, driven by a vision of comprehensive community health. Our path forward is guided by our four pillars: fostering Knowledge through education, connecting our neighbors with Nature, providing vital Nourishment through our food pantry, farmers markets and classes, and inspiring Movement in every stage of life. Together with our partners and supporters, we are building a legacy of healthy living that will serve our community for generations to come.