Project Title
Implementing and Sustaining Healthy Food Systems in Onondaga County
Grant Amount
$174,883
Priority Area
Healthy Food, Healthy Lives
Date Awarded
September 20, 2024
Region
Central NY
Status
In Progress
Website
Food systems planning is a collaborative process among farmers, retailers, consumers, nonprofits, health systems, and government to develop priorities and implement policies and practices that shape how local or regional food systems operate. Benefits of food planning include improving food procurement at public institutions, supporting local retail food businesses, and strengthening outreach and enrollment in benefits programs. NYHealth is supporting eight food planning groups in New York State that are developing tailored food system plans. With a 2023 NYHealth grant, the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA) created a five-year strategic plan to define the next chapter of its work. In 2024, NYHealth awarded SOFSA a grant to operationalize its strategic plan to make healthy, local food more available in Syracuse, surrounding Onondaga County and Onondaga Nation.
Under this grant, SOFSA will improve transportation to food access points regionally; expand farm-to-institution purchasing; collaborate on efforts to increase lead testing and develop multilingual testing resources for home gardeners; support community-identified solutions to food access issues with mini-grants; and pursue an advocacy and civic engagement strategy.