Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP)

SHIP is working to build healthier communities across Minnesota by expanding opportunities for active living, healthy eating, tobacco-free living and improved well-being

The choices we make are shaped by the choices we have...Individual behaviors - smoking, diet, drinking, and exercise - matter for health. But making healthy choices is not just about self-discipline. Some neighborhoods have easy access to fresh, affordable produce; others have only fast food joints and liquor and convenience stores. Some have nice homes; clean parks; safe places to walk, jog, bike or play; and well-financed schools offering gym, art, music, and after-school programs; and some do not.  

- Unnatural Causes, Ten Things to Know About Health

New SHIP logo

Not only do we want all people in Minnesota to live longer, healthier lives, we also want to reduce health care costs. Currently, ninety percent of the nation’s health care costs are for people with chronic conditions, and the majority of those costs are preventable.

Focus Areas, Goals and Partnership Opportunities

2022 crosswalk
Minnesota Moves

Minnesota builds a culture of getting places safely by walking, bicycling and/or using transit.

Minnesotans understand the connection between transportation and health.

Partnership Opportunities
  • Active Child Care and Classrooms
  • Safe Routes to School
  • Workplace Wellness
  • Active Transportation / Communities
  • Local planning (including zoning, land use and comprehensive planning)
  • Park Planning
  • Bicycle-friendly or Walk-friendly certification for businesses, cities, & campuses
2022 no smoking

Minnesota Commercial Tobacco-Free

Minnesota youth and young adults are tobacco and nicotine free.

Eliminate disparities related to secondhand smoke exposure and commercial tobacco and nicotine addiction/use.

Partnership Opportunities
  • Comprehensive Tobacco Free School or Workplace Policies
  • Point of Sale Ordinances
  • Smoke-Free Housing Policies
  • Smoke-Free Outdoor Community and Cultural Spaces
  • Referral processes to or in-house support of Cessation Services
2022 apple
Minnesota Eats

Everyone in Minnesota has access to healthy and culturally appropriate food at every age and in every place.


Partnership Opportunities
  • SuperShelf (Food Shelf & other emergency food systems)
  • Food Rx (in partnership with health care providers)
  • Breastfeeding Friendly Workplaces, Child Care & Health Care Providers
  • School Food Service
  • Farm to Table in Schools or Child Care
2022 wellbeing
Minnesota Well-Being

People in Minnesota, each and every one of us, feel an increased sense of belonging and feel respected.

People in Minnesota, each and every one of us, have opportunities to heal and live/learn/work in trauma-informed environments.

Partnership Opportunities
  • Trauma-Informed Schools, Workplaces, Child Care Providers, & Communities
  • Incorporating belonging into the fabric of our everyday life, e.g. Farmers' Market Navigators, Clinic-based Community Health Workers

To learn more about Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) in Minnesota, visit the Minnesota Department of Health website

For more about SHIP in Brown, Nicollet, Le Sueur, and Waseca counties, follow us on Facebook or contact Kristen Friedrichs 507-934-7221.