Can Blue Island Create a Sustainable Local Food System?
We sure think so. And based on our recent CPPW Model Communities grant award, it would seem that Cook County Public Health Department & Public Health Institute for Metro Chicago both agree.
Blue Island Model Communities Grant: Creating a Sustainable Local Food System
One element of Blue Island's Model Communities grant directly to this month's national focus on nutrition. Our PSE* change strategy is to increase the availability and equitable access of healthy, locally produced foods by developing a Sustainable Local Food System.
The approach for this project is to form a taskforce(s) of interested and representative local stakeholders that will work through a 3-part process with our technical assistance partners at Delta Institute.
The 1st phase involves a community food assessment which will analyze Blue Island's food needs and the local resources available to meet them.
The 2nd phase is a community food planning process that will use the results of the food assessment to identify projects, partnerships, and policy changes necessary to meet the food needs of all residents while also providing expanded economic opportunities for entire community.
Finally, the taskforce will work to implement the recommended strategies from the comprehensive food systems plan. Our existing community gardens will be expanded and we also hope to establish a food buying co-op, a community kitchen/kitchen incubator or a local CSA program.
Blue Island Needs Healthy Corner Stores
As a Model Communities grant recipient, we have also been linked with information and resources from the Healthy Corner Stores Network (HCSN). HCSN supports efforts to increase the availability and sales of healthy, fresh, affordable foods through small-scale stores in grocery, underserved communities.
Details are still being sorted out by CCPHD & PHIMC, but it sounds like a great opportunity is just around the corner for one of Blue Island's corner stores. We've been informed by our CPPW Coordinator at PHIMC that Cook County Model Communities is currently planning a local Healthy Corner Stores program.
The basic concept involves outreach to identify a corner store to work with - if the store owner is interested in participating and takes some initial steps towards change, he or she would be eligible to receive money to buy equipment to support the new healthy offerings. More details about this exciting program should be available within the next month or two.
For more information about Blue Island's Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant or to get involved with the taskforce, please contact the Community Development Department's Model Communities Project Coordinator, Gita Rampersad.
*Policy, Systems, Environment Change. For more details on the PSE Change Strategy options, Model Communities Grant Program: Policy, Systems and Environmental (PSE) Change Briefing Book.
Healthy Corner Stores as an Economic Development Strategy
