It’s going to take a collective community effort for Albert Lea residents to live longer, healthier lives and add up to 10,000 years of collective life.

“The first thing is to get the whole town engaged, because this is a big commitment for this town,” said Nancy Perry Graham, editor and vice president of AARP The Magazine. “We really wanted a town that would be committed; otherwise we’re not going to pull this off. We really do want Albert Lea to be a role model for other American cities.”

On the night before the project launches, Albert Lea residents got a taste of the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project with the first evening of the Albert Lea Farmers Market. A number of the group leaders and founders were there at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center to discuss how to make the program a success.

“The remarkable thing about this project is that it’s all inclusive — the perfect example of it takes a village — because the whole village is going to be involved from the top on down. You have to have support of the mayor, the city council, the employers, the restaurants,” Graham said.

The kickoff the Vitality Project is at 7 p.m. today at the Albert Lea High School. At the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center, organizers gave samples of what will be said this evening.

The main idea behind this project is that dieting and exercise usually fail in leading to health and longevity, the key to live healthier longer is to change your environment. Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell University and author of “Mindless Eating,” said this can start the environment of how people eat in the home.

“What I find is that people, they don’t know how much they eat. They don’t know how much they should eat. It’s the cues around us that end up causing people to eat more than they really intend,” Wansink said.

These cues include things like the size of a plate, the shape of a glass, the lighting in a room and the people around you while you eat. He said these things can cause a person to eat too much, he said. The solution isn’t to be aware of what’s happening.

For example, Wansink said that people will drink more if they use short, wide glasses, and they’ll eat more on a bigger plate. Wansink said knowing you’re eating and drinking more won’t solve the problem. The solution is to use skinnier glasses and smaller plates.

“The solution to mindless eating isn’t awareness or education. The solution is to change your environment, so you can mindlessly eat less without realizing it,” Wansink said

Taking simple steps such as leaving food on the counter while eating at the table can cause a person to eat healthier without consciously choosing to.

“What are the things that consumers can do in their homes so they can mindlessly eat less? What are the things that restaurants can do those win-win things that can help them do better?” Wansink said.

Blue Zone founder Dan Buettner said there is a 12-point evaluation for restaurants, and he said they’re taking steps to change the environment in the places children and adults spend much of their waking hours: schools and the workplace.

For example, Buettner said employers can allow times or breaks for employees to be more active, and vending machines with healthier choices can be added, and the vending machines with unhealthy choices can be moved to the far end of the workplace.

Graham said she’s been pleased to see the level of commitment and enthusiasm in Albert Lea, and she said she’s pleased to see the town plotting community gardens, connecting sidewalks and starting the walking buses to help children walk to school.

“You only get one life, so why not live it the best way possible,” Graham said. “The great thing is that the things that are going to make you live longer and healthier are the things that are going to make your life more fulfilling and more fun.”

She said people are not a prisoner of their genes and can take control of their live in an easy manner.

“AARP’s main mission is to redefine aging in America. Part of the key is attitude. If you feel young and act young, you are young,” Graham said. “One message is anybody can do this. You can, starting today, change the outcome of your life.”