RESUMEN
The issue of access to healthy foods has been central to the work of many community-based organizations around the country. One such organization, The Food Trust, launched an effective advocacy campaign to bring awareness and policy change to the issue. The Food Trust's efforts with its partners resulted in the creation of the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the nation's first statewide financing program to increase supermarket development in underserved areas. This article focuses on a key component of the advocacy campaign: the creation of an evidence-based report that served as a strong, credible foundation for the campaign. The steps that were taken to find partners, obtain and analyze the data, and disseminate the findings are described. In addition, the outcomes of the Fresh Food Financing Initiative are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Industria de Alimentos , Abastecimiento de Alimentos/economía , Áreas de Pobreza , Desarrollo de Programa/métodos , Defensa del Consumidor , Conducta Cooperativa , Humanos , Organizaciones sin Fines de Lucro/organización & administración , Pennsylvania , Salud PúblicaRESUMEN
In 2001 the Food Trust, a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring access to affordable, nutritious food, focused attention on the lack of access to healthy foods in Philadelphia by creating food access maps and convening a task force. The campaign led to the creation of a statewide initiative that to date has funded seventy-eight fresh food outlets in Pennsylvania, increasing food access for 500,000 children and adults. This success has led to interest from other states and the federal government in expanding the initiative. Here we present the Food Trust's five-step framework for increasing access to fresh, healthy food in other locales.