Project Title
Building Healthy Communities Conference Scholarship
Grant Amount
$6,000
Priority Area
Other
Date Awarded
May 31, 2017
Region
NYC
Status
Closed
Website
A key goal of NYHealth’s Building Healthy Communities priority area is to create healthy communities that lead to more New Yorkers of all ages eating healthy foods, being physically active, and having access to a range of programs that encourage healthy life choices.
Many organizations across the State are doing smart, innovative work that is relevant to NYHealth’s work to improve health in New York neighborhoods. These organizations should be elevating their work and informing key stakeholders at conferences and other convenings in New York and nationally. 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 Communities Request for Proposals (RFP). Through this RFP, NYHealth sponsored community-based organizations, health departments, and other low-resource organizations to attend and present at local, State, and national conferences related to building healthy communities. In 2017, NYHealth awarded the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Inc., a grant to participate in this initiative.
With NYHealth funding, three staff members from BronxWorks attended the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s Teaching Kitchen course. The Teaching Kitchen course is for nonprofit food service program directors, chefs, nutritionists, and lead kitchen staff who design menus, order supplies, provide nutrition oversight and programming, and prepare food. Through their participation, BronxWorks employees learned tools and strategies to design programs and implement actionable steps to significantly increase their low-income clients’ access to and use of fresh, healthy, and local food without raising costs. Along with a step-by-step manual to creating a farm-to-institution food program, BronxWorks staff members also received a site visit to assess and discuss all aspects of their program; three months of technical support to assist with change implementation; and ongoing access to new materials, newsletters, Web content, and resources produced by the Teaching Kitchen.