CIVIC-PG Track B Walk to Healthy Foods: Modeling Community-Based Assets to Increase Healthy Food Access in Underserved Communities

美国各地的低收入和种族-和民族-多样化社区获得健康食品的机会有限，酒类，角落和便利店的集中度高于超市，对居民的健康和福祉产生影响。“走向健康食品”的愿景是，通过为社区提供一种方法，确定和利用社区现有资产，解决全国服务不足社区的食品可获得性和社区需求之间的差距，以解决食品获取挑战。Walk to Healthy Foods采取基于资产的方法，确定已经为社区居民提供服务的企业，如现有的酒类、街角和便利店，并利用他们在社区的存在提供更健康的食品选择。在第一阶段，通过与社区利益相关者的参与和合作，步行到健康食品将开发一个选址模型，以确定社区中可以成为健康食品接入点的现有资产。在第二阶段，步行到健康食品将通过在圣地亚哥县服务不足的社区进行干预来测试和校准选址模型。具体来说，选址模型将用于识别潜在的健康食品接入点，并在这些地点推出农产品分销服务，从而增加社区获得新鲜农产品的机会。提出的方法包括与为社区提供直接服务的组织合作（即，向选定地点提供分销服务），可以真正测试地点选择模式，并进行研究，通过试点解决社区确定的需求，试点将对一个社区产生直接影响，同时测试和校准可在其他社区实施的模式。可用于确定服务不足社区现有资产的选址模型，可用于解决系统性挑战，如食物供应有限，有可能重新定义社区居民获得基本资源的需求。步行到健康食品将有助于地理，公共卫生，城市规划和商业等领域，以及不断发展的创新方法来解决紧迫的社会问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Low-income and racially- and ethnically- diverse communities across the United States experience limited access to healthy foods, and a higher concentration of liquor, corner, and convenience stores than supermarkets, with implications 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 communities with an approach for identifying and leveraging existing assets in their communities to address food access challenges. Walk to Healthy Foods takes an asset-based approach by identifying businesses that are already serving community residents, such as existing liquor, corner, and convenience stores, and leveraging their presence in the community to provide healthier food options. During Stage 1, through engagement and collaboration with community stakeholders, Walk to Healthy Foods will develop a site selection model for identifying existing assets in the community that can become access points for healthy foods. During Stage 2, Walk to Healthy Foods will test and calibrate the site selection model through an intervention in an underserved community in San Diego County. Specifically, the site selection model will be used to identify potential healthy food access points, and produce distribution services will be launched at these sites, resulting in increased access to fresh produce in the community.The approach proposed, which includes partnering with an organization that is providing a direct service to the community (i.e., produce distribution services to selected sites), allows a true test of the site selection model and for research to address a community-identified need through a pilot that will have a direct impact on one community while testing and calibrating a model that can be implemented in others. A site selection model that can be used to identify existing assets in underserved communities that can be leveraged to address systemic challenges, such as limited food access, has the potential to redefine what is needed in communities for residents to have access to essential resources. Walk to Healthy Foods will contribute to the fields of geography, public health, city planning, and business, among others, and to the ongoing development of innovative approaches to solving pressing social issues.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.