San Diego, CA
Walk to Healthy Foods: Modeling Community-Based Assets to Increase Healthy Food Access in Underserved Communities
Low-income and racially- and ethnically-diverse communities across the United States experience a higher concentration of liquor, corner, and convenience stores than supermarkets, with implications for healthy food access and for the health and well-being of residents. Walk to Healthy Foods’ vision is to bridge the gap between food accessibility and community needs in underserved communities nationwide by providing local organizations and community residents with a web-based, user-friendly app that takes an asset-based approach to identifying businesses that are already serving residents, such as existing liquor, corner, and convenience stores. The project will leverage these businesses to improve access to healthier food options and implement a scalable produce distribution approach that can be transferred and localized to each community to increase access to fresh produce and meet residents’ food needs.