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.

Treasury Opens 2015 Funding Round for Community Development Financial Institutions

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) provide affordable financing and related services to low-income communities and populations that lack access to credit, capital and financial services. CDFIs engage in a variety of activities in their local markets, including promoting economic development, creating jobs, developing affordable housing and providing banking, financial literacy and lending services.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund supports CDFIs through a range of programs, including the CDFI Program, Native American CDFI Assistance Program and Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Recently, the CDFI Fund announced the availability of funding for the following programs in 2015, subject to Congressional appropriations.

• $151 million for CDFI Program awards; 
• $15 million for the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program awards; 
•  $35 million of supplemental funding from the Healthy Food Financing Initiative for recipients of the CDFI and NACA programs who express an interest in expanding their healthy food-focused financing activities.

Applications for the CDFI and NACA Programs are due on Monday, November 24 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information on award categories, eligibility and application materials, see the CDFI Program and NACA Program pages.

Webinar: Improving the Learning Environment through Increased Access to School Breakfast

Later this month, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) will be hosting a webinar exploring efforts to increase participation in school breakfast programs. Titled "Breakfast for Learning: How Education Groups are Joining Efforts to Improve the Learning Environment through Increased Access to School Breakfast," the presentation will look at ways in which stakeholders across the country are trying to maximize the health and academic benefits of the School Breakfast Program.

Research has shown a connection between participation in school breakfast and positive outcomes such as decreased tardiness and absenteeism and improved focus in the classroom. At the same time, students face barriers to participation in the program, including stigma arising from the belief that school breakfast is for low-income students and difficulties in getting to school early enough to participate in traditional programs. This webinar will explore these and other challenges and ways in which groups across the nation are tackling them in order to help students be healthy and academically successful.

Scheduled speakers include:

• Kelly Beckwith, AASA (The School Superintendents Association)
• Kara Boyer, National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation
• Annelise Cohon, Senior Project Coordinator, National Education Association Health Information Network
• Eyang Garrison, Child Nutrition Policy Analyst, FRAC
• Whitney Meagher, National Association of State Boards of Education
• Heather Parker, National PTA
  

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, August, 19 from 3:00 - 4:00pm ET.

To learn more about and register for this webinar, please visit FRAC's website here.

Local Food, Local Places Initiative Announced

In June, the White House Rural Council Chairman and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Local Food, Local Places - a federal initiative that will help rural communities build strong local food systems as part of their community’s economic action plan. Together, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority will invest $650,000 in the Local Food, Local Places program. In addition to boosting local economies, this program will improve access to fresh foods – a challenge that residents of many rural and urban communities face. 

The Local Food, Local Places initiative will aim to:

• Boost economic opportunities for local farmers and businesses, and foster entrepreneurship;
• Improve access to healthy local food, particularly among disadvantaged groups with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables; and
• Revitalize downtowns, main street districts, and traditional neighborhoods by supporting farmers’ markets, food hubs, community gardens, community kitchens, and other kinds of local food enterprises, and by providing people with affordable choices for accessing those amenities, such as walking, biking, or taking transit. 

Selected communities will receive technical assistance and support as they develop and implement action plans that promote local food and downtown revitalization.

Communities throughout the United States are invited to apply. Special consideration will be given to communities in the following places:

• Areas served by the Appalachian Regional Commission
• Areas served by the Delta Regional Authority
• Federally designated Promise Zones
• USDA-designated StrikeForce counties 

Letters of Interest for the Local Food, Local Places initiative are due July 15, 2014. Applicants will be evaluated on number of items, including their commitment to USDA’s Seven Strategies for Economic Development and the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities’ Livability Principles.

Click here for more information about how to apply for Local Food, Local Places.

Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Initiative Projects

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) will award up to $9.5 million in grants ($800,000 maximum per project) in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary grant funds to increase healthy food access in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods. Funds will be awarded to projects that address food deserts, increase healthy food access, foster self-sufficiency for low-income families, and create employment opportunities in low-income communities.

The program will provide technical and financial assistance for healthy food ventures that can improve access to the purchase and consumption of healthy and affordable foods and that can address the economic needs of low-income individuals and families through the creation of work and business opportunities within their communities. The program is intended to address issues of chronic unemployment and community deterioration in urban and rural areas, and to provide an alternative to Federal programs.

Initiative program's objectives are to support businesses and commercial activities that improve access to healthy foods and the overall health of community residents while creating long-term jobs in the community that:

• Bring healthy food choices to communities that are in food deserts through the establishment ofnew healthy food retail outlets or by supporting the offering of a significant number of healthy food choices at an existing retail outlet that lack such choices; 
• Develop and enhance distribution systems to increase the amount of healthy food going to healthy food retail outlets in food deserts; 
• Develop strategies that promote or encourage the purchase of healthy foods, including outreach andeducation to consumers in food deserts about healthy food choices and how they can be integrated into their diet; and 
• Provide income to low-income individuals so that they can become self-sufficient. 

Preference will be given to healthy food projects that involve collaboration with other Federal Healthy Food Finance Initiative Programs and certain additional Federal programs that address healthy food access, target rural communities and that will be located in one of the following states or Trust Territories that do not have an active CED-HFFI project.

The application due date is July 21, 2014. For more information, click here.

Summer Food Service Program

The USDA is hosting a webinar highlighting the Summer Food Service Program to help end summertime hunger for children and teenagers. Millions of children and teenagers rely on free or reduced-cost school lunches during the school year, but during the summer, these students are at increased risk of going hungry because they no longer have access to the free and reduced-price meals they received while they were in school. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to cover the summer meal gap by providing nutritious meals to students when school is not in session. Free meals that meet Federal nutrition guidelines are provided to all children 18 years old and younger at approved SFSP sites in areas of significant concentrations of low-income children. Most sites provide one or two meals each day, while places serving migrant children may serve up to three meals per child, each day.

State approve SFSP meal sites as open, enrolled, or camp sites:

• Open – These sites are operated in low-income areas where at least half of the children come from families with incomes at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, making them eligible for free and reduced-cost school meals. Meals are served free to any child. 
• Enrollment – Enrollment sites provide free meals to children enrolled in an activity program at the site. At least half of the children enrolled at the site must eligible for free and reduced-cost meals. 
• Camp – These sites receive payments only for meals served to children who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. 

Though this program is intended to help the majority of children that receive free or reduced-cost school lunches, only 16 percent of eligible kids are participating. Want to learn more about how kids in your community can benefit from SFSP? As part of their webinar series, the USDA will be hosting a webinar, Make your Summer Meals Site the Talk of the Town, to learn how to get more involved. The webinar will be hosted on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 2:00 PM EST. To register for the webinar, click here. 

National Recreation and Park Association 2014 Out-of-School Time Programs Grants

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has made grants available to support children’s health through park and recreation programs. One-year grants are expected to range from $25,000 to $35,000. In-kind nutrition literacy materials, valued at $10,000, will also be provided to each grantee.

The 2014 grants offered will focus on three main goals:

1. Increase the number of healthy meals children in low-income communities receive through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP);
2. Provide nutrition literacy to children that creates behavior change by teaching the importance of healthy eating;
3. Implement nutrition and physical activity standards that increase access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. 

Funds can be used toward staffing to support program implementation, marketing and promotions within the local community, supplies, food service equipment, program transportation costs, and other basic needs to create or expand access to out-of-school nutrition programs. Funding cannot be used to purchase food.

Eligible applicants must be a local government agency providing park and recreation services, such as a municipal park and recreation department, tribal recreation department, park district, etc., and serve meals through the SFSP and/or the CACFP in 2014.

Applications are due at midnight ET on Thursday, March 6, 2014. Applicants will be notified by April 1, 2014.

For the complete announcement, click here.

New Report: Access to Healthy Food & Why It Matters

PolicyLink and the Food Trust have released Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters: A Review of the Research - a report detailing the latest research about how access to healthy foods has improved in recent years, as well as the impact that limited access continues to have for both individuals and communities throughout the nation.

The report highlights three primary findings:

• Accessing food remains a significant challenge for many families, particularly those living in low-income neighborhood, communities of color and rural areas. The report suggests that an estimated 25 to 30 million Americans – roughly 9 percent of the population – live in communities with limited or no access to healthy food options. In New York City, for example, one-third of predominantly black census tracts lack walking or subway access to healthy food retailers.

• Living closer to healthy food retail is among the factors associated with better eating habits and decreased risk for obesity and diet-related diseases. The lack of access to healthy foods – combined with other obstacles, such as limited transportation – pose significant challenges for families and can lead to several negative outcomes, including poor health. According to the report, nearly half of black and Hispanic children are overweight or obese. Ensuring that families have access to healthy food options is essential to creating communities that promote healthy lifestyles.

• Healthy food retail stimulates economic activity. Beyond ensuring that families have access to healthy food options, food retailers can have a major impact on the local economy. According to the report, it is estimated that 24 new jobs are created for every 10,000 square feet of retail space. Thus, new retail opportunities in low-income communities and communities of color can be a critical piece of a neighborhood's revitalization strategy. In addition, government food benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provide a further economic stimulus when spent at local retailers. It is estimated, for example, that ever $5 in new SNAP benefits generates $9 in local spending at SNAP-accepting retail outlets.

Though there has been increased attention to the challenge of healthy food access in recent years, ensuring that communities have access to healthy food options remains a great challenge. The implementation of federal programs, such as the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, has stimulated both interest and action in communities throughout the country. However, increasing access to healthy foods remains a challenge that all communities – particularly those that are low-income – should continue to address.

Want to learn more? Check out the resources blow.

• Check out the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s brief – Aligning Resources and Results: How Communities and Policymakers Collaborated to Create a National Program – to learn more about the development of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

• Check out the Investing in Community Change blog’s Healthy Food Access label (located on the right sidebar) to learn more about healthy food access, including reports, tools and funding opportunities.

• Want to know where areas with limited access to healthy foods are located? Check out the USDA’s Food Access Research Map.

Funding Available for Community Development Financial Institutions

Economically distressed communities in the United States often lack institutions that offer residents and business owners access to affordable and responsible financial products and services. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) help fill this need by providing loans, investments, technical assistance and other financial services to under-served populations and communities.

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in the United States Treasury Department supports CDFIs through a range of programs, including a certification process, monetary awards, technical assistance and capacity building opportunities.

Last week, the CDFI Fund announced the availability of funding for the following programs:

• $144 million for CDFI Program awards; 
• $35 million for Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance awards; 
• $12 million for the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program awards. 

The proposed funding is still subject to Congressional appropriations, meaning the total amount of funding may decrease.

The CDFI Program: Financial Assistance (FA) & Technical Assistance (TA) Awards

• TA awards of up to $100,000 are available to certified CDFIs, as well as organizations working toward CDFI certification, to build their capacity to better address the needs of their target markets, expand into new investment areas or targeted population and/or become certified CDFIs. Awards may be used for diverse purposes, including “to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies; for consulting or contracting services; to pay the salaries and benefits of certain personnel; and/or to train staff or board members.” While both certified and non-certified CDFIs are eligible to apply, non-certified organizations must be able to become certified within two years of receiving a TA award.

• FA awards of up to $2 million are available to certified CDFIs for financing capital, loan loss reserves, capital reserves, or operations. FA awards are made in the form of equity investments, loans, deposits, or grants and must be matched dollar-for-dollar with non-federal funds of the same type as the award itself. To be eligible for a FA award, CDFIs must be certified or submit a separate certification application. Applicants must have developed a comprehensive plan for: deploying credit, capital and financial services to make a measurable impact on community development within their target market(s); and/or expanding into new investment areas or targeted populations.

• Those eligible for a FA award can also apply for supplemental funding through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative to expand their healthy food-focused financing activities, providing residents with improved access to nutritious food through strategies including “grocery stores, mobile food retailers, farmers markets, cooperatives, corner stores and bodegas.” 

The Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program
The NACA Program supports CDFIs that primarily serve Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. Both financial and technical support are available for CDFIs “in various stages of development – from organizations in the early planning stages of creating a CDFI, to tribal entities working to certify an existing lending program, to established CDFIs in need of further assistance.”

Last year, 192 organizations received FA and TA awards totaling over $172 million through the CDFI Program, including 10 awards totaling more than $22 million through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Additionally, 35 organizations serving Native Communities received $12.4 million through the NACA Program.

Applications for the CDFI Program (including the Healthy Food Financing Initiative) and NACA Program applications are due on December 23, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Application materials, including pre-recorded webinars with additional guidance, are available online for the CDFI Program and NACA Program. In addition, applicants can register for live webinars or an in-person workshop to be held in Washington DC on November 14, 2013. To locate a CDFI in your state, click here.

Upcoming Healthy Food Access Portals Webinars: New Market Tax Credits and Rural Grocery Initiatives

The Healthy Food Access Portal is hosting two upcoming webinars focused on bringing healthy food retail to under-resourced communities.

On July 11, the Healthy Food Access Portal will offer a webinar that will provide information on the New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) program as a tool to encourage private sector investment in healthy food retail in low-income communities. The webinar will introduce NMTCs, explain the power and limitations of the program and discuss examples of how NMTCs are being used to finance healthy food access projects.

Presenters will include: 

• Mia Sowell, CDFI Fund, Senior Policy and Program Officer;
• Christina Szczepanski, The Reinvestment Fund, Senior Portfolio Manager; and
• Patricia Smith, The Reinvestment Fund, Senior Policy Advisor 

The New Markets Tax Credits webinar will take place from 2:00-3:00pm EST. To register, click here.


The second webinar will take place on July 18 and will focus on how to support healthy food retail in rural communities. The unique challenges that rural grocers face will be discussed, along with innovative solutions to improving access to healthy food in rural towns. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) resources available to support rural grocery stores will be shared, along with ways to access this funding.

Presenters scheduled to speak include: 

• Dr. David Proctor, Director of the Rural Grocery Initiative Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University;
• Joani Walsh, Deputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, USDA;
• Chad Parker, Deputy Administrator for Cooperative Programs, Rural Development’s Rural Business and Cooperative Service, USDA; and
• Patricia Smith, The Reinvestment Fund, Senior Policy Advisor 

The Rural Grocery Initiatives webinar will take place from 2:00-3:30pm EST. To register, click here.

Webinar: Healthy Food Financing

Later this month, the Healthy Food Access Portal will be hosting a webinar to discuss how to advocate for and implement healthy food financing initiatives. The webinar will use The Food Trust’s recently published Healthy Food Financing Handbook to discuss city, state and federal efforts in improving access to healthy foods.

The webinar will serve as a guide for communities on how to effectively advocate for the development of healthy food retail, as well as discuss how healthy food financing initiatives are administered by government agencies, community development financial institutions, and community-based organizations.

Presenters include:

• John Weidman, Deputy Executive Director, The Food Trust;
• Dwayne Wharton, Director of External Affairs, The Food Trust; and
• Caroline Harries, Senior Associate, The Food Trust.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, June 20, from 2:00-3:00pm ET. Click here to register.

International Human Rights Clinic Releases Report on Food Insecurity

Last month, the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) released a report on food security in the United States that described the prevalence of the problem and recommended solutions. In 2011, 50 million people in the United States lived in “food insecure” households, meaning they could not afford adequate food for themselves or their families. Of those, 17 million people lived in households labeled “very low food security,” meaning they skipped meals, ate small meals, or even went without eating for an entire day. Food insecurity is not a new issue in the U.S., but the problem has grown increasingly worse in the midst of the nation’s economic recession. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of people who could not afford adequate food grew by roughly 14 million.

The consequences of food insecurity are devastating. Food insecurity is strongly correlated with obesity rates, as food insecure families must often decide between purchasing low-cost, unhealthy food and more expensive, healthful foods. In addition, children in food insecure households are at risk for serious health problems, struggle in school more than their peers, and are more likely to have behavior problems and need mental health counseling. Unsurprisingly, these children drop out of high school at higher rates than their peers, limiting their lifetime earning potential.

In addition to having a negative impact on individuals, food insecurity also has a high financial cost for society. In 2010, the cost of hunger (the “hunger bill”) in the U.S. was $167.5 billion, an amount that includes costs of treating illnesses related to food insecurity, impact of hunger on educational outcomes and earnings, and the cost of running charity-based emergency food programs. The Center for American Progress estimates it would cost about half of the “hunger bill” to extend federal nutrition assistance programs to include all food insecure families.

Despite the pervasiveness of the problem and its negative consequences, food assistance programs have been weakened by budget cuts across all levels of government.

U.S. Domestic Nutrition Assistance Programs (DNAPs) are operated by two federal agencies – the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services (USDA-FNS) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging (HHS-AOA), as well as state and local agencies. The four main DNAPs are:

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program),
• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP),
• The School Breakfast Program (SBP); and 
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

In Nourishing Change: Fulfilling the Right to Food in the United States, the IHRC contends that these programs fall short in several ways, including having narrow eligibility requirements and difficult enrollment processes.

In the report, the IHRC calls for a new approach to food insecurity and recommends that the U.S. government develop a comprehensive national strategy to ensure food access and strengthen the food safety net.

Want to know how to help your community combat food insecurity? Check out these resources:

Healthy Food Financing Handbook

Summer Food Services Program

Healthy Food Access Portal

How Family Food Security Supports the Economy and Children’s Health

The Healthy Food Financing Handbook

The Food Trust and The Reinvestment Fund have published a handbook for public health and community development organizations that outlines the advocacy and implementation process of state and local policies that encourage healthy food retail in underserved communities. Research indicates that over 29.7 million Americans live in communities where it is difficult to find healthy, affordable foods. Communities lacking supermarkets, for example, have higher rates of diabetes and other diet-related deaths. In addition to ensuring that children and families have access to healthy foods, the lack of such foods – and retailers that provide them – is an economic issue as well. Supermarkets can spark revitalization efforts in communities by generating foot traffic, attracting nearby complementary stores and creating jobs for local residents.

This new handbook – Healthy Food Financing: From Advocacy to Implementation – is based on the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, an initiative designed to address both the health and economic vitality of under-resourced communities throughout the state. From 2006 to 2010, the program approved funding for 88 projects across the state, developing 1.67 million square feet for retail space while creating or retaining over 5,000 jobs. More than 400,000 Pennsylvania residents have improved access to healthy food thanks to these efforts. Pennsylvania’s successful effort sparked the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) – a grants and loan program for projects that place healthy food retailers in low-income areas. Since 2010, HFFI has given funds to 47 Community Development Financial Institutions and community development corporations to finance fresh food retail projects in their regions.

The handbook released is a great resource for communities that are thinking of implementing their own healthy food access strategy. Using several case studies as examples, the handbook details four phases of advocacy and implementation:

• preparing and informing, 
• engaging and empowering stakeholders, 
• strategizing and developing recommendations and 
• changing policy. 

In the first phase, the foundation for a successful movement is made by compiling data, including gathering maps and other sources of information the low-income areas that lack access to healthy foods and, as a result, may have high rates of diet-related diseases and other consequences. In Pennsylvania, maps helped stakeholders in the community understand the scope of the problem.

The second phase involves creating multi-sector partnerships to strengthen the argument. These partnerships can include supermarket industry leaders, public health and economic development officials, children’s advocates, community leaders, civic officials, and financial sector professionals. Bringing a group of diverse partners together can bring new perspectives to the table, as well as an array of resources and expertise that can generate potential strategies and solutions.

After conducting the research, informing community stakeholders, and creating partnerships within the community, it is time to develop an action plan to create change during phase three. In order to do this successfully, the partnership is convened to analyze barriers to healthy food access and develop policy changes that would improve food retail development and access to healthy food choices.

Finally, phase four includes releasing a final report of policy recommendations to the public to policymakers at the state and local level. Policy recommendations will vary from community to community, but common suggestions include prioritizing food retail in community development, supporting workforce training programs for the supermarket industry, reducing regulatory barriers, and financially supporting supermarkets that are developed in underserved areas.

RESOURCES:

To learn more about the development of HFFI, check out the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s brief “Aligning Resources and Results: How Communities and Policymakers Collaborated to Create a National Program.”

Summer Food Services Program Provides Meals for Low-Income Students While School’s Out

Throughout the nation, roughly 29 million children rely on free or reduced-cost school lunches funded through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during the school year. During the summer months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers the Summer Food Services Program (SFSP) to continue to provide meals to help bridge the gap.

Although SFSP has been in operation since 1968, the program is heavily underutilized. According to the Food Research and Action Center, only one in seven children who rely on the NSLP for lunches during the school year received food through SFSP in the summer of 2011.

Most states operate SFSP through their education agencies. At a local level, SFSP is operated by approved sponsors, including local government agencies, school districts, camps, or private nonprofit organizations. The sponsors provide free meals to children at a central site and are reimbursed by the USDA through state agencies for meals served.

There are three designations for SFSP sites:

• Open – These sites are operated in low-income areas where at least half of the children come from families with incomes at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, making them eligible for free and reduced-cost school meals. Meals are served free to any child. 
• Enrollment – Enrollment sites provide free meals to children enrolled in an activity program at the site. At least half of the children enrolled at the site must eligible for free and reduced-cost meals. 
• Camp – These sites receive payments only for meals served to children who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. 

Because of the program’s underuse and the devastating effects of child hunger, community outreach and collaboration are critical. A good example is Baltimore County Public Schools, which worked with the local Parks and Recreation Department, advocacy groups, Title I school coordinators, school system public information coordinators, and other community organizations to form a Summer Outreach Committee. The committee launched a media campaign focusing on radio, television, and print communications, distributing flyers throughout the community, and establishing a Summer Program hotline for potential sites and participants. For more examples of best practices in implementing SFSP, click here. For community outreach ideas and toolkits, click here.

Do you want your community to take advantage of SFSP? Check out this document to learn more about your state’s application deadline. Please note that application deadlines for sponsorship vary from state to state, ranging from April to June deadlines. For a list of state agencies operating SFSP, click here.

To check out our blog post on improving access to NSLP, click here.

HHS Announces Community Economic Development Funding Opportunities

Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of funding for two Community Economic Development Projects. Both opportunities will fund community-driven initiatives that spur economic growth by creating new products, services, and other commercial activities that result in the creation of new positions for low-income individuals and increased economic vitality in low-income communities.

Eligible applicants for both grant opportunities include Community Development Corporations (CDCs). Recognizing that CDCs often have knowledge and expertise around specific issues in their community, they are poised to use these funding opportunities to efficiently and effectively create new community economic development projects.

Community Economic Development Projects
This grant opportunity will fund CDCs that are working to create employment and business opportunities that benefit low-income communities. More specifically, funds can be used to help cover the costs associated with business start-up or expansion efforts, provided that resulting job opportunities can be filled by low-income individuals. In addition to improving the self-sufficiency of individuals and their families, grants are intended to also create businesses and employment opportunities that strengthen the broader community and attract additional public and private investment.

HHS anticipates using an estimated $16.3 million to make 21 grants ranging from $100,000 to $800,00, with an average award of approximately $750,000. Projects funded through this opportunity can include both construction and non-construction projects. Applications must be submitted by July 2, 2013.

For more information about this funding opportunity, including allowable activities and eligibility requirements, please click here.


Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Initiative Projects
The Healthy Food Financing Initiative is a coordinated effort between the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health & Human Services and Treasury that aims to increase the supply of and demand for healthy foods in communities that lack access to affordable and nutritious food choices. As one program within this effort, the Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Project will fund CDC initiatives that both create jobs and improve access to healthy food in communities that have been identified as "food deserts." Specifically, funds may be used to cover costs associated with business start-up or expansion efforts, such as financing the construction of grocery stores, providing direct assistance to farmers or supporting urban and rural farmers markets.

HHS anticipates using an estimated $9.4 million to make 13 grants ranging from $100,000 to $800,000, with and average award of approximately $720,000. Applications must be submitted by July 2, 2013.

For more information about this funding opportunity, including how HHS defines "food deserts," please click here.

Healthy Food Access Webinars: Grocer Training & Baltimore Case Study

Next month, the Healthy Food Access Portal will host two webinars aimed at highlighting practices that can help provide under-served communities with greater access to healthier food.

On May 2, the Healthy Food Access Portal will offer a webinar focused on the role grocers can play in expanding access to nutritious food. Entitled "The Grocery Gap: A Training for Grocers", the session will highlight lessons learned and strategies grocers can use to build or expand stores in communities with high need.

Presenters are scheduled to include:

• John Weidman, Deputy Executive Director, The Food Trust;
• David Smith, Senior Vice President and Division Manager, Associated Wholesaler Grocers Inc.;
• Bob Durand, Member Services Director, Associated Wholesaler Grocers Inc.

This webinar will take place on Thursday, May 2 from 12:00 - 1:00pm ET. To register for this webinar please visit here.

The second webinar, which will take place on May 16, is called "Baltimore: A Healthy Food Access Case Study". This presentation will highlight the work of an intergovernmental initiative to increase access to healthy and affordable foods, including the development of a virtual supermarket program and a recently released study that mapped food quality cross the city.

Participating experts will include:

• Laura Fox, Director of Baltimore Office of Chronic Disease Prevention;
• Amanda Behrens, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Maryland Food System Mapping Project;
• Dana Johnson, The Reinvestment Fund, Market Leader Baltimore;
• Patricia Smith, The Reinvestment Fund, Senior Policy Advisory, Moderator.

This webinar will take place on Thursday, May 16 from 2:00 - 3:00pm ET. To register for this webinar please visit here.

Webinar: Alternative Retail Strategies for Healthy Food

On April 11, the Healthy Food Access Portal is hosting a webinar about non-traditional retail initiatives aimed at increasing healthy food in underserved communities. Entitled "New and Innovative Models from the Field: Alternative Retail Strategies", the event will provide examples of successful efforts from around the country and also highlight their many impacts, which include positive improvements in health and economic well-being.

Presenters are scheduled to include:

• Allison Hagey, Senior Associate, PolicyLink;
• Rebecca Fliszar, Community Intervention Dietician, Heat Beat Backs: The Heart of New Ulm Project;
• Dwayne Boudreaux, Owner, Circle Food Store;
• Mary Donnell, Chief Executive Officer, Green City Growers.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 11 from 1:00 - 2:00pm ET. To register for this webinar, please go here.

For more information about the Healthy Food Access Portal, check out our previous blog post here.

Webinar: Food Policy Councils

The recently launched Healthy Food Access Portal is hosting a webinar on food policy councils. Entitled "Food Policy Councils: Improving Healthy Food Retail in a City", the webinar will introduce participants to the concept of food policy councils and discuss examples of successful models from around the country, with a special focus on the experience of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Presenters are scheduled to include:

• Mary Lee, Deputy Director, PolicyLink;
• Clare Fox, Strategic Initiatives Coordinator, Los Angeles Food Policy Council;
• Lindsey Day Farnsworth, Researcher, University of Wisconsin-Madison Community and Regional Food Systems Project, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 20 from 2:00 - 3:00pm ET. To find out more information and register for this webinar, please go here.

New Healthy Food Access Portal Launches

Recently, PolicyLink, the Food Trust, and the Reinvestment Fund partnered to launch a new website for information related to healthy food access. Dubbed the "Healthy Food Access Portal", this new resource aims to serve as a hub for news, events, funding opportunities, strategies, and case studies of efforts from across the country to improve access to healthy food. The website also provides access to research to help your community make the case, in both health and economic terms, for initiatives that seek to expand the availability of and access to healthy food.

Whether your community is trying to increase the nutritional value of foods offered by your local "corner stores", instituting a "mobile market", or exploring the possibility of enacting policies that can help attract grocery stores and other retailers, the Healthy Food Access Portal can help to provide success stories from similar communities and concrete strategies you can adapt to your local context.

To explore the Healthy Food Access Portal, please go here.

Improving Access to the National School Lunch Program

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has released a report detailing key steps to improving access to free and reduced-price school meals.

The National School Lunch Program is a federal program that strives to provide students with a nutritious lunch every school day. As many families struggle in the current economic climate, this program has been especially important.  Research suggests, for example, that access to nutritious food helps foster healthy development and learning. While the school lunch program serves many students, some eligible children miss out on these meals. CBPP’s report highlights recent policy changes that simplify the enrollment process in an attempt to reach more eligible children.

According to the report, some families are unaware of the school lunch program or face other barriers to participation, such as complex enrollment forms. The report suggests ways that state and local program administrators can improve program access. Specifically, CBPP highlights six opportunities:

1. Reach more children in households receiving SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) by improving direct certification data matching 
2. Reach eligible children who receive other means-tested public benefits by expanding direct certification data matching 
3. Reach children in foster care and homeless, migrant, and runaway children by strengthening the processes to directly certify these children 
4. Eliminate access barriers by simplifying applications and subsequent communications 
5. Ensure year-long enrollment by retaining eligible children throughout the school year 
6. Provide free meals to all children in high-poverty schools by utilizing the new community eligibility option 

To view specifics on how to enact each step, please click here.