PHILADELPHIA - Rural and urban grocery stores can be hard to find in many parts of the nation, and Pennsylvania isn't immune from the problem. In some areas of the Keystone State, however, an innovative effort is changing the landscape.
A non-profit called The Food Trust is making a difference through its Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Food Trust executive director Yael Lehmann says it offers grants and loans to grocery retailers and allows those operators to decide how and where they spend the money. She says the program has worked well.
"These really, truly, are projects that are done in neighborhoods where it's very hard to find high-quality food and so the demand is there, ready and waiting."
The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative turned $30 million of state seed funding into $190 million of additional investment to open approximately 90 new or improved fresh-food retailers since it launched in 2004.
A non-profit called The Food Trust is making a difference through its Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Food Trust executive director Yael Lehmann says it offers grants and loans to grocery retailers and allows those operators to decide how and where they spend the money. She says the program has worked well.
"These really, truly, are projects that are done in neighborhoods where it's very hard to find high-quality food and so the demand is there, ready and waiting."
The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative turned $30 million of state seed funding into $190 million of additional investment to open approximately 90 new or improved fresh-food retailers since it launched in 2004.
According to Food Trust program manager Miriam Minon, people living in underserved neighborhoods eat fewer fruits and vegetables and are more apt to be overweight.
"These are the same communities where residents are likely to experience high rates of diet-related disease - things like diabetes, obesity - and we really know that in some neighborhoods and communities it's challenging for residents to conveniently access stores selling fresh and healthy food."
Lehmann says the convenience that comes with a neighborhood grocery store breeds more substantial benefits.
"We've talked to folks that have said, 'Before this I had to take two buses to get to the grocery store.' It makes a huge difference in their lives and their ability to feed their families in a more healthful way."
More information is online at thefoodtrust.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment