Healthy Food, Healthy Lives Archives - New York Health Foundation

United Way of New York City

Food insecurity is linked to lower diet quality, higher rates of diet-related disease, and increased health care costs. Medically supportive food and nutrition services—collectively known as Food Is Medicine (FIM)—can help address these issues. FIM interventions provide tailored food assistance to individuals with chronic illnesses or health risk factors. Evidence shows that FIM services can reduce food insecurity, improve health outcomes, and lower long-term health care costs. In 2025, NYHealth awarded United Way of New York City (UWNYC) a grant to develop and evaluate a replicable FIM model that expands these services across New York City.

Under this grant, UWNYC will collaborate with the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute to evaluate the FIM program. UWNYC will gather baseline clinical and survey data and coordinate with community-based organizations (CBOs) to host follow-up screening events. CUNY will use a mixed-methods approach to examine changes in participants’ attendance, health outcomes, food security status, knowledge, and behaviors. UWNYC will share findings with stakeholders, including its network of more than 1,100 affiliate United Ways, CBOs, and health care providers.

Code for America

Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the first new permanent federal food assistance program in nearly 50 years. It provides pre-loaded debit cards to help low-income families purchase groceries during the summer when school meals are not available. In New York, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) administers the program and distributes $120 in benefits per child. More than two million children in New York are eligible, with the potential to bring in $240 million in federal funding. However, the program’s first year faced significant implementation challenges. Families were often unable to verify addresses or navigate the system, which overwhelmed state-run call centers and delayed or blocked delivery of EBT cards. In 2025, NYHealth awarded Code for America a grant to support the development of a consumer-facing tool that enables families to check their eligibility for and enroll in Summer EBT.

Under this grant, Code for America will partner with OTDA to develop and test a New York State Summer EBT Parent Portal. Code for America will conduct assessments with the New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) to understand technical system capabilities and constraints. Code for America will develop testable prototypes and conduct user research in English and Spanish with parents. Post-launch, Code for America will support analytics and monitoring efforts to reduce call volume, minimize duplicate applications, improve EBT card delivery, and ensure that only those who need to apply are directed to do so. OTDA and the New York State Department of Education will promote the portal through outreach to school districts and social service providers.

Urban Justice Center (for the Safety Net Project)

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. Research shows that SNAP participation reduces food insecurity by as much as 30% and enables low-income households to afford healthy food. More than 1.7 million New York City residents are enrolled in the program, which is administered by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). Over the past several years, rising food insecurity and the lingering effects of the pandemic have led to increased demand for SNAP. In recent years, HRA has struggled to process applications within 30 days, as federal law requires. Overall, the City is now processing 83% of SNAP applications on time, up from 42% when the Safe Net Project at the Urban Justice Center (SNP-UJC) launched their advocacy. These gains are now at risk. In a moment of rising prices and inflation, these changes will increase food insecurity for millions of New Yorkers and deprive the local food economy of hundreds of millions’ worth of food. In 2024, NYHealth awarded The Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center a grant to advocate for improving the City’s timely processing of SNAP applications for eligible and food-insecure New Yorkers. In 2025, NYHealth awarded SNP-UJC a grant to continue community-led policy advocacy, organizing, and communications, amplifying the voices of New Yorkers most at risk of losing benefits.

Under this grant, SNP-UJC will activate community members, media contacts, and organizational relationships to reshape the public view on food access and equity. SNP-UJC will mobilize SNAP participants to contribute their voices locally to influence broader federal advocacy efforts. It will educate officials at the City, State, and federal levels on the consequences of potential federal changes to SNAP. SNP-UJC will conduct outreach at SNAP offices, health centers, and food access sites. It will hold bi-weekly meetings with SNAP recipients to plan strategic actions and host public events to raise awareness of proposed federal cuts. It will also develop digital toolkits, lead leadership workshops on public speaking and organizing, and amplify participant voices through media and social platforms.

Rural Health Network of South Central New York

Millions of children in New York rely on meals served in public schools and early childhood education programs like Head Start and preschools. These meals play a powerful role in shaping student health and educational outcomes. Students who eat school meals daily have better diets than those who do not; they consume more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. While government funding supports school meal administration, nutrition, eligibility, and procurement, it omits a critical element: recruiting, training, and maintaining the school food workforce. School districts report labor shortages as a common challenge for their meal programs; more than 90% of districts nationwide reported labor shortages in 2024. In 2022, NYHealth awarded Rural Health Network of South Central New York (RHN) a grant to develop a farm-to-institution model for early childhood education centers and expanded efforts to connect children and families to fresh, local food at Head Start locations in Broome and Chenango counties. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the RHN a grant to build regional capacity to deliver high quality meals by testing a workforce training program and expanding infrastructure for early childhood education programs to increase local food purchasing and fresh food preparation.

Under this grant, the RHN will expand its farm-to-early childhood education (farm-to-ECE) model to nine Head Start centers in Broome and Chenango counties. It will support local food sourcing, fresh meal preparation, and use of federal meal reimbursements, while connecting families to nutrition benefits like WIC, SNAP, and subsidized farm share programs. RHN will create professional development trainings for early care providers and expand its statewide farm-to-ECE network to build momentum and chart a path for broader implementation across New York.

NYHealth also awarded a complementary grant to the Chef Ann Foundation.

Chef Ann Foundation

Millions of children in New York rely on meals served in public schools and early childhood education programs like Head Start and preschools. These meals play a powerful role in shaping student health and educational outcomes. Students who eat school meals daily have better diets than those who do not; they consume more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. While government funding supports school meal administration, nutrition, eligibility, and procurement, it omits a critical element: recruiting, training, and maintaining the school food workforce. School districts report labor shortages as a common challenge for their meal programs; more than 90% of districts nationwide reported labor shortages in 2024. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) a grant to build statewide capacity by testing a workforce training program and expanding infrastructure for early childhood education programs to increase local food purchasing and fresh food preparation.

Under this grant, CAF will partner with Central New York school districts to pilot its school food workforce apprenticeship program. CAF will build a local coalition including school districts, universities, nonprofits, and community members with support from the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance. It will identify and recruit districts with leadership buy-in and fresh cooking capacity. CAF will launch paid, on-the-job apprenticeships in at least five schools. CAF will provide technical assistance, evaluate the pilot, and formalize a New York-specific model for state approval and long-term sustainability through existing funding streams.

NYHealth also awarded a complementary grant to the Rural Health Network of South Central New York.

Hunger Free America

Food access programs like SNAP and WIC promote nutrition security for millions of New Yorkers and are proven to be the most effective tools to fight hunger. Research shows that SNAP participation reduces food insecurity by as much as 30% and allows low-income households to afford healthy food. Other programs like school meals and Summer EBT ensure that millions of children have access to healthy meals during the school year and summer months. SNAP and WIC together could enable 3.3 million New Yorkers to obtain $8.3 billion in groceries over the next year; even a small cut in those benefits would deprive the most vulnerable New Yorkers—and the State’s food economy—of hundreds of millions worth of food. Given the shared federal, State, and local administration of food benefit programs, federal policies could have varying impacts across New York State and subpopulations (e.g., rural, older adults, and immigrant communities). In 2025, NYHealth awarded Hunger Free America a grant to monitor policy changes and provide analyses and insights on the immediate and long-term impacts of federal policy changes to SNAP, WIC, and other key food access programs.  

Under this grant, HFA will monitor proposed and enacted policy changes, create public education materials (e.g., fact sheets, toolkits) to disseminate through State and local networks, and convene stakeholders. It will create a series of reports related to future shifts in the federal policy landscape; share findings, amplify recommendations, and engage audiences through various media channels.

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Funding Area: Healthy Food, Healthy Lives