The Food Trust | Home

Time 2020-06-26 10:04:05

Web Name: The Food Trust | Home

WebSite: http://thefoodtrust.org

ID:11270

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Food,The,Home,

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Bringing Supermarkets to Underserved Communities Across the Country Working with Staff Across the Country to Ensure Healthy Food Access for All Dave Tavani for The Food Trust As we continue to process the heartbreak and chaos in Philadelphia and around the country, we want to make one thing abundantly clear: The Food Trust stands with the protesters and condemns racial violence, police brutality, and the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the hundreds who came before them. Black safety, security, opportunity, well-being and survival should be the floor, not the ceiling. Black Lives Matter. Full stop. The Food Trust s mission is to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. The fact that everyone does not have access is rooted in the systemic racism that has infected this country for centuries. In fact, racism has impacted access to housing, education, employment and so much more. The disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on communities of color is a living example. The Food Trust acknowledges that we have not done enough to combat institutional racism, both within our organization and in the communities we serve. Things will never change until we create the change. We pledge to: Do better, together with the people and families we serve. Use our position to amplify the voices of those doing crucial anti-racism work. Teach that food justice is racial justice, and one cannot exist without the other. Access to healthy food matters for the same reason abolishing racism matters: Equity in all its forms, including access to healthy food, is a right, not a privilege. We all deserve to thrive. Angel Rodriguez, Chairman, Board of Directors, and Aaron Felder, Interim CEO, on behalf of The Food Trust As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds across the country, our mission has come into focus more than ever before: Americans need access to nutritious, affordable food, and the information to make healthy decisions. Here s how The Food Trust is tackling food insecurity on the front lines, providing resources to communities in need, and ensuring that no one should have to choose between eating healthy and eating enough: Farmers Markets and Food Bucks As the pandemic continues to evolve, The Food Trust s farmers markets have become even more critical community access points for affordable, healthy food. Our three year-round markets (Clark Park, Fitler Square and Headhouse) have remained open throughout the COVID-19 crisis, with additional safety precautions put into place to keep customers, farmers, staff and volunteers safe. Our staff opened Fairmount Farmers Market significantly early (April 30) and have instituted senior/immunocompromised shopping times at all open markets. May marks the start of our broader farmers market season, with more and more markets opening each week through the end of June. The Food Trust s Food Bucks network provides a crucial safety net for families relying on SNAP, so we continue distributing these coupons at farmers markets, grocery stores and corner stores. Throughout the month of May, we are offering a spend $2, get $2 match, enabling customers to double their purchasing power and bring home even more fresh fruits and vegetables. To minimize person-to-person contact and travel for SNAP shoppers, we are working with a local healthcare partner to mail Food Bucks Rx (fruit and vegetable prescriptions) to patients. Nutrition Education With schools and community sites closed indefinitely, The Food Trust s nutrition education team has shifted to an entirely virtual learning model.Our Online Learning Hub, launched May 11, serves as a resource center for caregivers, families, educators and individuals, and includes original video content, healthy recipes, recommended physical activities, cooking demonstrations, shopping tips and much more.The site is updated every Monday morning with fresh content to help families active and nourished during these challenging times. Healthy Food Retail and Fresh Food Financing Corner stores and other food retailers are dealing with unprecedented hardships as essential businesses operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.Thanks to the generosity and flexibility of our funders,we have been able to repurpose grant dollars to provide immediate relief to stores.The Food Trust is offering local corner store owners and other small food retailers theopportunity to apply for mini-grants, which will help stores in low-income communities to stay open or reopen, and assist with immediate general operating needs to ensure the safety of their communities and staff. In addition, store owners are being encouraged to apply to thePennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (PA FFFI), a statewide funding program managed by The Food Trust, to secure an additional one-time grant and/or loan to increase access to healthy, affordable food in lower-income and underserved communities.The Food Trust is supporting partners with similar grocery financing programs inMassachusetts,Kansas, theDeep South and at thefederal level. Our staff are now offering fully remote support for food retailers, as well.We connect with business owners on a regular basis via phone calls and group text messagesto share important updates and resources. Staff are also supporting partners to build healthy food retail strategies through COVID-19, providing interactive webinars and training abouthow to leverage resources and relationships to support stores during these challenging times. If you re interested in collaborating with The Food Trust on virtual programming, community-based food access or other initiatives, please reach out to . Since 1992, The Food Trust has been working to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food and information to make healthy decisions. The Food Trust's comprehensive approach includesimproving food environments and teaching nutrition education in schools; working withcorner store owners to increase healthy offeringsandhelping customers make healthier choices; managing farmers marketsin communities that lack access to affordable produce; andencouraging grocery store developmentin underserved communities. See what The Food Trust is doing in Philadelphia and across the country to build healthier communities. "We know that a lot of things contribute to poor nutrition and obesity, but access is a key issue," says Dr. Giridhar Mallya. "People don't have the ability to get healthy foods in their community at an affordable price. That makes it that much harder for them to be healthy overall." At The Food Trust, we work on programs and policies supporting healthy food access wherever food is sold or served. We encourage healthy retail development in underserved communities, teach kids how to eat healthy in schools, hostcooking demonstrations at recreation centers, runfarmers markets in neighborhoods, support farm to school initiatives, and provide incentives for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. All of these things combined is what can improve the health of people and our neighborhoods. Everyone deserves access to healthy food. Learn more about the importance of food access and find out how you can get involved. Fax:215-575-0466 E-mail:contact@thefoodtrust.org Address:The Food Trust One Penn Center Suite 900 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19103 Sign up for our newsletter, The Healthy Food Access Times, and stay up-to-date on the latest policy developments, funding opportunities, best practices and innovative strategies.

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