Page 6 - Innovations in Food Equity: Business and Community Together

4 • InnovatIons In Food eqUIty
broadens access to healthy eating information by starting conversations about wellness and fresh food.42 The initial scope of work for Whole Cities is focused on New Orleans, Louisiana; Englewood, Illinois; and Jackson, Mississippi.43
In New Orleans, Whole Foods collaborated with the Refresh Project to restore an abandoned 60,000 square foot building into a Whole Foods market with free nutrition education that will also host a non-profit café that provides job skills training for youth, a medical teaching kitchen, a teaching garden, and a revitalization organization.44 In Jackson, Whole Foods is collaborating with organizations that are working to increase access to fresh, healthy food by inviting grant applications from non-profit organizations that run community gardens, urban farms, mobile groceries, and other innovative projects to bring fresh, healthy, and affordable food to the area.45 Still in development is the Englewood location where Whole Foods will stock the store with more affordable 365 Brand products, price produce individually instead of by the pound, and sell more bulk foods.46
By focusing on community engagement, food education, and the needs of the local community, Whole Foods has created a lasting business model that is improving the health and wellness of underserved communities.
wegmanS
Originating in Rochester, New York, Wegmans is a family-owned grocery store that has implemented many successful initiatives that foster and support community development.47 Each store supports local community initiatives, food banks, and also accepts suggestions from community members on where donations and sponsorships should be allocated.48
The company’s initiatives include Feeding the Hungry, a campaign that donated 16.5 million pounds of food to local food banks and food pantries in 2013 alone.49 Wegmans’s Check Out Hunger program, a yearly campaign that asks customers to add a small donation to their order to support a local food bank, has raised approximately $29 million since 1993.50 The funds raised for Check Out Hunger directly support the initiatives of the food banks by, for example, providing food to emergency food organizations such as food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters;51 increasing access to fresh produce through community markets;52 increasing awareness of the issues surrounding hunger;53 and, workforce and skills development.54
Since the 1990s, Wegmans has supported Kids Café, one of the nation’s largest child- feeding programs, that provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to low-income children in community locations (including Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, public schools, and community centers).55 Last year, the Rochester, New York program provided over 300,000 meals at 60 different sites.56 The program also offers other services like after-school assistance with homework, nutrition education, and meals that emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables.57 Kids Café has had a significant impact. The Center on Hunger and Poverty reported that children who participated in Kid’s Cafes earned better grades in school.58 Additionally, “KidzPack”s are offered on the weekends when free or reduced price lunch programs that are provided during the week are not usually available.59
Recognizing that hunger and poverty issues are interconnected and often food deserts are also “job deserts” with high unemployment rates,60 Wegmans is committed to hiring the majority of its employees from the local community and offers opportunities for career growth and development. Further, they have extensive employment training programs for each location before opening. For example, the newest store location planned for Brooklyn will bring 1,200 jobs to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.61 Partnering with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation to recruit area residents for jobs, developers and resident leaders will set up New York City Housing Authority employment centers in nearby developments.62 In the first two weeks of hiring, the store will interview exclusively from the three housing projects that border the Navy Yard.63
Wegmans’s initiatives empower the communities they support. Hiring locally and offering support in the form of training and scholarship programs creates a collaborative environment between employees, owners, and customers. Job creation also alleviates economic hardships, which in turn, provides greater financial access to healthy food.