Rite Aid Healthy Futures Supports Food Access in Fresno
For immediate release.
2 leading nonprofits will receive grants totaling $2 million through the Strengthening Cities initiative
CAMP HILL, PA – Rite Aid Healthy Futures is committing $2 million to two leading Fresno 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 Fresno and five other cities, the funding announced today aims to advance food equity and food sovereignty. It will support urban agriculture programs, community farms and food distribution in Fresno, where residents too often miss out on the healthy vegetable and fruit produced in their own agriculturally rich community.
Fresno Metro Ministry, a multi-faith and multicultural organization dedicated to improving the health, environmental quality, economic development and overall resiliency of the San Joaquin Valley, will receive $1.82 million over two years.
The grant will support several youth-centered programs under the Food to Share project, including enrolling more than 100 students into its Metro Community Garden and Urban Farm after-school and summer gardening and farming programs. Nearly 250 kids and teens will also learn to shop, cook, eat and enjoy healthier foods and nutrition on a limited family budget through Fresno Metro Ministry’s Cooking Matters program.
The funding will also support the Fresno Metro Ministry’s Food Stewardship, Waste Prevention and Food Recovery programs; development of the Fresno Food Policy Council; and six community organizations supporting students in targeted neighborhoods.
“This is the beginning of an inclusive movement where children and youth will help lead the Fresno community toward a more equitable, healthy and sustainable local food system,” said Keith Bergthold, executive director of Fresno Metro Ministry. “Not only are we developing a replicable model that other school communities and cities can scale, but hundreds of young, motivated leaders will emerge from our programs with the mindfulness, team-building skills and self-awareness it takes to create truly resilient neighborhoods.”
The Fresno Community Health Improvement Partnership (FCHIP), the leading multi-sector network addressing health outcomes and inequities in Fresno County, will receive $180,000 over two years.
The grant will support FCHIP Youth Leadership Cohort & Trauma Informed Trainings, giving the youth leadership council a deeper-rooted knowledge of health disparities and systems change with a focus on food security. It will also support service providers with trauma-informed training to be better equipped to mentor and guide youth at risk for toxic stress.
“Toxic stress – like the type that can come from prolonged food insecurity – can have damaging effects on learning, behavior and health across a lifetime,” said Artie Padilla, a member of the FCHIP leadership team. “By intentionally teaching service providers how to recognize and mitigate the cumulative toll of toxic stress, we can help them develop the positive, nurturing relationships needed to improve children’s health and well-being.”
In Fresno, the negative effects of residential segregation are still apparent today. In some exclusive neighborhoods of North Fresno, the life expectancy is nearly 90 years old. In the city’s south and southwest, residents live on average 20 years less.
Updated by FCHIP, the Healthy Fresno County Community Dashboard reports that almost 30 percent of Black families and 25 percent of Latino families live below the poverty line, compared to 7.6 percent of white families.
And although Fresno County is one of the nation’s primary agricultural producers, the United States Department of Agriculture identifies 93 census tracts where county residents live more than half a mile (city) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest grocery store. There are five times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores than supermarkets, and transportation limitations keep thousands of Fresno residents from affordable healthy foods.
Overall, more than 800 Fresno students and service providers will benefit from programming related to the Strengthening City initiative.
“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 Fresno 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)
