Title: Convergence Partnership Advocates to Bring Healthy Food to Every Community with Recipes for Change
Author:
Linda Shak, MSW, Prevention Institute, linda@preventioninstitute.org
Section/SPIG: Food and Nutrition
Issue Date:
School lunches and farmers markets are on the national radar right now, and for good reason. The food system influences our ability to access, buy and eat healthy foods: from what’s sold in grocery stores in restaurants, to what’s available at school and on the job, to the way in which our food is grown and processed, the food system matters. The just-released Convergence Partnership's Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every Community, authored by the Prevention Institute, aims to increase access to healthy foods by highlighting the innovative prevention strategies already working in communities across the country.
Recipes for Change showcases opportunities to change the food system to benefit our physical, economic, social and environmental health: from fresh food financing to school nutrition standards to food procurement policies. Fueled by research, innovative policies, and grassroots energy, the movement to increase access to healthy foods and to create a sustainable, equitable food system can provide a springboard for public action and local activism.
The Convergence Partnership is a collaboration of funders with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places. The steering committee includes representatives from The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Kresge Foundation, Nemours, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serve as critical technical advisors on the committee. PolicyLink, a national research and action institute devoted to advancing economic and social equity, serves as program directors for the partnership. Prevention Institute, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving community health and equity through effective primary prevention, provides policy research and analysis along with strategic support. The Convergence Partnership supports multi-field, equity-focused efforts to create environments that support healthy eating and active living.