In honor of Food Day 2013, the Healthy Food Access Portal held a food policy 101 webinar which brought together community leaders and activists from throughout the country to share strategies for improving access to healthy foods. Webinar speakers discussed the best way to harness the power of community to create policy change at the local, state, and federal levels. The webinar addressed a range of topics including why healthy food access is important, the role that food policy councils, community leaders, and local government can play in making real policy change, and how to engage community to improve food access and quality.

Advocacy efforts to improve access to healthy food at the local, state, and federal level have led to the creation of financing programs to support healthy food retail in underserved communities nationwide.

One key effort, Voices for Healthy Kids Initiative, led by the American Heart Association and The Food Trust, is advocating for state-wide policies to promote healthy food financing and corner store programs in key states across the country. This webinar will provide an overview of the Voices for Healthy Kids Initiative and discuss how advocates and community leaders can tap into resources to support state-level healthy food access efforts. Experts will discuss key successes from the field and share best practices.

The Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) tested a way of making fruits and vegetables more affordable for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assis­tance Program (SNAP). Under HIP, SNAP partici­pants received a financial incentive for purchasing fruits and vegetables. The HIP evaluation used a random assignment research design.

Specifically, 7,500 Hampden County SNAP households were randomly selected to partic­ipate in HIP, while the remaining 47,595 households continued to receive SNAP benefits as usual. The final evaluation report presents findings on the impacts of HIP on fruit and vegetable consumption and spending, the processes involved in implementation and operating HIP, impacts on stakeholders, and the costs associated with the pilot.

Food Policy Councils are a great way for food system stakeholders of all types – from farmers to government employees, non-profit leaders to active citizens – to engage in policymaking that directly affects them. Each entry in this directory includes contact information, links to webpages and social media sites, governance structures, top priorities, and notable accomplishments for the respective FPC.

Illustrates the connection between improved healthy food access and resulting economic and community development, encouraging readers to include assessment of economic outcomes in their healthy food access research agenda, and provides evidence to support decision makers in advancing healthy food policies.

SNAP allows households to deduct unreimbursed medical expenses over $35 per month from their income in calculating their net income for SNAP purposes to more realistically reflect the income they have available to purchase food.  This, in turn, could potentially qualify them for higher SNAP benefits. While the medical expense deduction plays an important role in ensuring that households with high medical costs receive adequate benefits, it is underutilized.

With so many people, especially low-income people, affected by diet-related health conditions, building a connection between healthy foods and the doctor's office may be one of the most effective ways to improve health outcomes.

 Learn how you can develop an equitable food hub in your own community.  This webinar highlights how food hub operations are creating a more equitable and inclusive food system and discuss lessons learned and strategies for success.