Itta Bena

The city of Itta Bena was founded on the west bank of Roebuck lake in Mississippi. We are a small rural community that takes pride in our local churches, city library and lakeside environment. Itta Bena is also home to Mississippi Valley state university which is located on the northside of the major highway in our city. There are just over 2,000 residents our city; over 80% of our residents are African American, over 17% white and around 1% Hispanic/Latino.

Our Community for All Ages team formed to create a well networked community initative that addresses issues of health and well-being for all ages in Itta Bena. Our team includes representatives from Mississippi Valley state University as well as the local mayor, and representation from our many churches and faith based organizations. Building our coalition with such strong representation from the faith based community has helped our efforts to engage youth members, many of whom participate in church youth groups and Sunday school. With a strong team, representative of the community, our work currently focuses on helping icrease connection between the community and the university and reduce the rate of diabetes and obesity of people of all ages in Itta Bena through healthy activities and more access to fresh fruits and vegtables.