Jumping in:Your Food Bank as a Community Change Agent

Closing the Hunger Gap Conference

Presented by:Keith Carr, City Harvest Susan Fowler, City Harvest Kathy Kim, City HarvestEna McPherson, Tranquility FarmsBill Sherman, Staten Island Neighborhood Food Initiative

• Founded in 1982 as the world’s first food rescue organization, City Harvest is dedicated to helping feed the nearly 1.4 million New Yorkers facing hunger

• City Harvest exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City. We do this through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions, such as our Healthy Neighborhoods program

What is City Harvest?

• Bring together residents, local business owners, religious organizations, and institutions

• Mobilize the community via resident-led action groups, called Community Action Networks (CAN)

• CANs develop a vision for a healthy community and implement projects to achieve that vision

Our community engagement strategy

But…Overweight/Obese: 68.7%Poverty: 21.4%

Over 30 community gardens and farms

Manhattan

Bronx

Queens

Brooklyn

Staten Island

Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn:

a neighborhood of contrasts

Health and weight indicators: Community Health Survey, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2009. Poverty rates: 2011: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey, One-year Estimates: Table C17001

Bed Stuy community gardens

Bed Stuy community gardens

Bed Stuy community gardens

• Group of 35 residents and representatives from organizations committed to improving the food landscape of Bed Stuy

Bed Stuy Community Action Network

Bed Stuy garden tour:connecting gardeners in the community

Bed Stuy garden tour:connecting gardeners in the community

• Support urban growing efforts • Demonstrate the benefits of urban

growing to community members

Subcommittee of community farmers and gardeners

Flashpoint 1: exposé on soil toxicity in NYC community gardens targets Bed Stuy

• Bed Stuy farmers/gardeners pledge to maintain high standards for soil quality and transparency

• Developed soil toxicity rating system, to be posted at gardens

• Media exposure through open letters and op-eds

Subcommittee response

Flashpoint 2: Bed Stuy gardens targeted by mayor for potential housing development

11 Brooklyn gardens(6 in Bed Stuy)

5 Manhattan gardens

1 Queens garden

Image: 596 Acres Website (http://596acres.org/en/)

• Letter writing campaign and petition to city officials

• Member-generated media exposure

Subcommittee response: stop development plans

• Engaged NYC Food Policy Director and elected officials who put pressure on developers

• Potential development plans put on hold

Subcommittee’s campaign delivered results

• City Council and CAN Member Robert Cornegy featured this issue in his first State of the District Address

• Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver visited Tranquility Farms

Subcommittee’s campaign engaged high-level officials

Manhattan

Bronx

Queens

Brooklyn

Staten Island

North Shore of Staten IslandOverweight/Obese: 64.3%Poverty: 21%

Health and weight indicators: Community Health Survey, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2009. Poverty rates: 2011: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey, One-year Estimates: Table C17001

Staten Island: the neglected borough

Closer look at a “food desert”…

My Plate Challenge: a neighborhood-focused health promotion strategy

• 2 challenges, 13 competitors from 5 countries

• Over 200 people participated—competitors, judges, nutritionists, mentors, and the general community

• Participants expressed interest in eating healthier following competition

My Plate Challenge results

• Build on past success with My Plate Challenges focusing next on Sri Lankan and Italian cuisine

• Explore possibility of growing African and Mexican vegetables in existing community gardens and urban farms

• Introduce backyard gardeners to their local food pantries and soup kitchens so that they know where to donate surpluses

•  

Next steps

So, what made this work possible?

• Community Food Assessments revealed interest in changing the food landscape

• City Harvest established relationships and built trust with key members in the community

• Programmatic evolution at City Harvest made resources available

Why would food banks and food rescue organizations advocate for improving the food system? • Act as major anchors in the food

system • Distribute large volumes of food • Bring together robust network of

businesses and community programs • Responsible for creating impactful,

structural change

• Brand recognition and credibility• Experience• Scale• Stability• Volunteers• Established trust and track record• Demonstrated impact

Resources City Harvest brings

2003-2007Produce for Health

2007First

Community Food

Assessment

2010First

Community Engagement

Staff

2011Healthy

Neighborhoods Strategic Plan

2012First

Community Action Groups

City Harvest evolution: from food rescue to Healthy Neighborhoods to community engagement

Focus on produce and community health

Integrate relief and development where it’s needed most

Increased Access (produce

distribution & retail work)

Nutrition Education (demos, courses, tours)

Community

Engagement

Healthy Neighborhoods

• Assess programming with staff and board

• Identify most vulnerable communities

• Conduct community food assessment• Canvas community opinion on needs• Develop plan of action in partnership

with community• Focus on realistic, on-the-ground

projects

Steps for engaging your community

• Is your food bank/food rescue organization on the path to becoming a food change agent?

• What kind of community activities can your food bank or food rescue group do now?

• Who are potential allies in your community?

• Name 1-2 things you think your community can achieve in the next 6 months

Table discussion (10 minutes)