Rite Aid Healthy Futures Supports Food Programs in Buffalo
For immediate release.
2 leading nonprofits will receive grants totaling $600,000 through Strengthening Cities initiative
CAMP HILL, PA – Rite Aid Healthy Futures is committing $600,000 to two leading Buffalo food access programs through its new Strengthening Cities signature initiative, designed to reduce health disparities for children and youth living within city neighborhoods.
Part of a larger $10 million, two-year commitment focused on Buffalo and five other cities, the funding announced today aims to advance food equity and food sovereignty. It will support multi-generational community gardening programs, expanded urban agriculture workforce development initiatives, youth summer programming and more in Buffalo.
Programs will particularly focus on East Buffalo. Most of the areas without adequate access to grocery stores are clustered in the city’s eastern neighborhoods, where at least 3 in 4 residents are people of color – a reminder that Buffalo remains one of the most segregated cities.
The Buffalo Center for Health Equity, which aims to eliminate race, economic, and geographic-based health inequities by changing the social and economic conditions that cause illness and shorten lives, will receive $300,000. Funding will connect community gardeners of all ages with gardens, farmers markets and food outlets, entrepreneur training and nutrition education. It will also support a multigenerational community gardens program, as well as garden-related summer programming for East Buffalo children.
“This program recognizes the central role that food plays in our lives, not just as physical sustenance but as a vehicle for exciting entrepreneurial ventures, fulfilling careers and needed community development,” said the Rev. George Nicholas, Pastor of Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church and a member of The Buffalo Center for Health Equity. “At the ground level, the programs will give participants a deeper understanding of soil and plant management, waste-reduction practices and organic gardening techniques that they can use for the rest of their lives.”
The Grassroots Garden WNY and Massachusetts Avenue Project will jointly receive $300,000 to support their collaborative Buffalo Food Justice Project focused on building food equity for underserved East Buffalo neighborhoods. The project will strengthen family and youth engagement and resources at East Buffalo community gardens, expand urban agriculture workforce development programs, expand food access and establish food-based micro-enterprise training and opportunities.
“This multifaceted project will build critical self-reliance towards meeting the food needs of families through food-focused business ventures, community work, and more,” said Diane Picard, executive director of the Massachusetts Avenue Project.
Jeanette Koncikowski, executive director of Grassroots Gardens WNY, added, “Our gardens will produce healthy food for multiple neighborhoods across East Buffalo, all the while ensuring we're growing the next generation of gardeners and youth leaders.”
Lack of access to grocery stores, combined with other stressors such as racism, poverty and unemployment that especially affects the eastern swaths of the city, have contributed to the loss of real years of life from Black Buffalo residents. An analysis from the New York University School of Medicine found that a life expectancy gap of 25 years exists across Buffalo neighborhoods.
“Racial inequities and health disparities across big cities and small towns in the U.S. continue to profoundly affect the lives and futures of tens of millions of Americans every day. ZIP codes have unparalleled consequences for one’s life opportunities and long-term outlook,” said Matt DeCamara, executive director of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. “The Strengthening Cities initiative will confront the harsh realities of poverty and hunger while impacting many lives and futures. We cannot achieve racial equity if we do not also achieve health equity for all Americans.”
Formerly known as The Rite Aid Foundation, Rite Aid Healthy Futures is the public charity created by Rite Aid in 2001. The organization launched a new brand identity this week to reflect reinvigorated programming focused on quality education, good health, food access, stable housing and income opportunities – often referred to as the social determinants of health.
The Strengthening Cities signature initiative is the first major program to be announced under the banner of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. Overall, Healthy Futures is investing $10 million over two years in the Strengthening Cities program.
Starting with a focus on food equity, the Strengthening Cities initiative will initially fund 20 nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on Black and Brown-led charities across Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Fresno and Philadelphia. The grants will support innovative and sustainable programs that widen food access, advance food sovereignty, address food apartheid and ultimately improve health outcomes for children and their families. Programs include community gardens, urban farms, school partnerships, hunger-relief efforts and more.
“We’re as eager to listen and learn from our Buffalo partners as we are to support them,” DeCamara said. “Together, we can make positive change one city, one neighborhood, one person, one action at a time. We can all be the human spark that drives real progress and uplifts our neighborhoods.”
About Rite Aid Healthy Futures
Rite Aid Healthy Futures is a public charity dedicated to driving change in communities, with emphasis on underserved neighborhoods, focusing on the areas of health, wellness, race and equity. Together with our donors, Rite Aid associates, community partners and neighbors, we help lift up local neighborhoods through caring actions and investments that make a real difference in people’s lives. Healthy Futures is proud to be affiliated with Rite Aid, which provides an array of whole being health products and services for the entire family through over 2,000 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states. Visit www.RiteAidHealthyFutures.org to learn more about our work.
Media Contact:
Andrew Staub
Communications Specialist
Rite Aid Healthy Futures Andrew.Staub@riteaid.com
717-649-2437 (Text messages OK)
