Healthy Food Access Portal Hosts Virtual Training on Community Mapping Tool

Healthy Food Access Portal hosts a virtual training on Research Your Community, a new mapping tool to help communities and organizations understand the landscape of food accessibility in a given area.The Healthy Food Access Portal harnesses a vast array of data and information to support the successful planning and implementation of policies, programs, and projects to improve access to healthy foods in low-income and communities of color. The Portal is designed to help people access resources related to healthy food access policy efforts, funding opportunities, and successful retail strategies.

The tool helps communities identify the changes that can improve food accessibility and serve as  a valuable resource for advocacy and fundraising efforts. The grocery landscape is ever changing, and data is one of many ways to paint a picture of a community’s need for healthy food access interventions. This webinar will train users about how to effectively leverage this new tool.

Powered by PolicyMap, this tool allows users to access 60 data indicators. Topics include:

• Demographics, including income and SNAP participation; 
• The food environment, including locations of supermarkets and farmers markets; 
• Health indicators, such as fruit and vegetable consumption and 
• Eligibility data for federal funding programs, such as the New Markets Tax Credit program.

The virtual training will take place March 10, 2015,  2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (ET). Register here to learn how to use this tool.