Building healthier, equitable communities that have access to healthy, affordable food requires a variety of approaches. ioby, “In Our Backyards,” is an organization designed to provide a grassroots complement to top-down policy efforts.
While policymakers can create large-scale change in communities, they may not be tapped into hyperlocal needs—for instance, that parents in East Harlem are motivated to create a “kitchen classroom” so that students can prepare foods they grew in their school garden. New Yorkers have critical information about their own neighborhoods that make them best equipped to identify and solve problems that cut across many issue areas, including healthy food access. When residents implement their own solutions, they build community participation and long-term stewardship. However, these resident leaders are often an underfunded, overlooked source of expertise in their own communities.
The ioby model provides direct support to residents themselves. Match programs support project leaders and local donors by providing projects with a $1 match for every $1 crowdfunded on ioby. This type of grassroots philanthropy can help empower residents with the means to improve their own communities.
Please join NYHealth for a webinar learn more about ioby’s latest partnership with NYHealth—supporting local healthy food and nutrition projects led by communities of color across the State. Panelists will discuss the unique aspects of ioby’s grassroots model, including best practices from similar community outreach projects across the country. Speakers will be:
- Miriam Parson, Match Program Director, ioby
- Krista Ehasz, Co-Founder, Highland Clubhouse
The one-hour webinar will feature a short discussion followed by audience Q&A.