Project Title
Healthy Food, Healthy Lives Conference Scholarship
Grant Amount
$5,000
Priority Area
Other
Date Awarded
January 31, 2022
Region
North Country
Status
Closed
Website
In a state as large as New York, a steady stream of smart, innovative work is coming from NYHealth grantees and non-grantees alike that is relevant to NYHealth’s priority areas of Healthy Food, Healthy Lives and Empowering Health Care Consumers and its focus area on Veterans’ Health.
These organizations should be elevating their work and informing key stakeholders at regional, statewide, and national conferences, meetings, and other convenings. Yet, because of a lack of resources, they are often unable to do so. To address this issue, NYHealth is awarding grants through its Sponsoring Conference Participation in Support of Healthy Food, Healthy Lives; Consumer Empowerment; and Veterans’ Health Request for Proposals (RFP). Through this RFP, NYHealth is sponsoring low-resource organizations to attend and present at local, State, and national conferences related to these areas. In 2022, NYHealth awarded Adirondack Health Institute grant to participate in this initiative as part of its efforts to connect people to healthy food.
Under this grant, Adirondack Health Institute used funds to co-host the 2022 Food Justice Summit, in collaboration with the Adirondack Food Systems Network and ADK Action. The summit raised awareness of challenges and successes in the farming and food production industries. It also addressed the intersections of food justice, racial equity, health care, and education in the rural regions of the Adirondacks and North Country. The Food Justice Summit provided an opportunity for experts in the food system to discuss successful methods of connecting community members to healthy food in the regions they serve. Presentation topics included increasing collaboration among food system partners; increasing food sovereignty within under-resourced communities; addressing challenges specific to rural communities; and using technology to improve resources and tools within food systems. Attendees learned about current food system challenges and barriers specific to rural communities, and gained methods for access and production improvement, ideas for expansion, and creative approaches to improve community reach.