Baltimore Food Policy Initiative
BFPI’s goal is to increase access to healthy affordable food in Baltimore City’s food deserts through implementation of the food policy taskforce recommendations.
BREAKING NEWS...
Cherry Hill Receives National Grant to Create Community Gardens and Promote Healthy Eating
(November 10, 2011) U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a national People’s Garden Project award to the Cherry Hill community at a ceremony in Cherry Hill’s “Eat Healthy, Live Healthy” Community Garden. The grant will provide $45,000 to Cherry Hill schools and partner organizations to establish gardens and educate residents about nutrition and gardening. Another goal of the effort is to promote the growth of “green jobs” for area residents.
The Department of Planning, Towson University, residents and local non profits all partnered to develop and submit the two-year grant application that will be funded by the USDA’s People’s Garden Project. Cherry Hill’s project was one of only ten funding awards nationwide.
The announcement was attended by community residents, local partners in the project, and national and local dignitaries.
Public Markets Initiative
This summer, BFPI conducted a Healthy Food Assessment in all six of Baltimore City’s public markets. The assessment looked at what prepared foods are available in public markets, what type of food preparation equipment is used, and how healthier items can be introduced based on the type of vendor. The key findings showed that all 6 markets are in or bordering food deserts, and that 70% of the food vendors are carryouts (otherwise known as fast food or takeouts). This was an important finding because it means that the public markets are contributing to the density of carryouts in food deserts in Baltimore City.
In collaboration with the Lexington and Public Market Corporations, and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, we developed strategies to support carryout vendors who provide healthier menu options, while simultaneously increasing demand by consumers who buy healthier foods.
The strategies used to support the vendors include healthy menu labeling, incentives for vendors to buy healthier foods, increases in the number of healthy sides and combo meals offered, and a healthy carryout certification for participating vendors after the fourth phase of the program is completed.
The initiative will be piloted with 10 prepared food vendors at Lexington Market starting in October 2011. The healthy menu labeling segment of the initiative was launched at Broadway Market in September 2011, in time for the market’s grand reopening. Ultimately, all vendors in Baltimore’s public markets will participate in all four phases of the initiative by the end of 2015. Here is a presentation with more information on the public market initiative in Baltimore.
Increasing Access to Healthy Food in Howard Park
Howard Park will receive $759,000 from the national Healthy Food Financing Initiative to build a long deserved grocery store in their community. The project is one of only 12 Community Development Financial Institutions nationally to receive a share of $25 million specifically focused on eliminating food deserts in low-income and rural communities.
“These federal funds will not only help build a new grocery store, but also support the development of a commercial kitchen, and revitalize farmers markets in the area,” said Planning Director Thomas J. Stosur. “This is a great example of how a grocery store can increase a community’s access to healthy foods and spur job creation.”
The new Howard Park ShopRite will bring more than 150 temporary construction jobs to the city during development, and an estimated 80 full-time and 200 part-time permanent jobs once the store opens. The supermarket is scheduled to be complete by February 2013.
 National Food Day Events in Baltimore
On Monday, October 24th, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gathered with Department of Planning Director, Thomas J. Stosur; Baltimore Food Policy Director, Holly Freishtat; other city agency heads; representatives of the United Way of Central Maryland; urban farmers; and healthy food advocates at Whitelock Community Farm in Reservoir Hill to commemorate the country’s first National Food Day.
Food Day, sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is a nationwide celebration promoting healthy, affordable and sustainably grown food. The goal is to raise awareness for improved food policies – nationally, regionally and locally.
Many events took place throughout the City to commemorate Food Day, including celebrations at George Washington Elementary and John Eager Howard that promoted and encouraged healthy eating habits among students with cooking demonstrations and Maryland-grown produce tastings by University of Maryland Extension Food Supplement Nutrition Educators.
Food Desert Summit
On October 25th, Baltimore City Food Policy Director, Holly Freishtat, accompanied Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to Chicago, Illinois, to attend the Food Desert Summit hosted by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Mayor Rawlings-Blake was one of eight mayors in the country to be invited to a round-table discussion on ways to bring healthy and affordable food into food desert communities. The trip included a tour of Iron Street Urban Farm, a seven acre urban farm, and a tour of a Walgreens “Food Oasis” store which provides expanded healthy food options in food desert communities.
The goal of the summit was to initiate a national conversation among mayors and grocery store CEOs about how to bring supermarkets back into underserved areas to increase access to healthy foods, while also creating jobs and economic opportunities in food desert neighborhoods.
|
