New York Health Foundation

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Region: Hudson Valley

Sullivan 180

Sullivan County, located in the Catskill Mountains, is home to about 75,000 residents and remains the poorest county in the mid-Hudson region.

Despite its appeal to seasonal and second-home residents, the county struggles with limited economic development and inadequate health care access. Ranked 57th out of New York’s 62 counties in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings, Sullivan County faces high rates of obesity and suicide, and low rates of prenatal care. While the county has made some gains, its shortage of primary care providers continues to worsen. Access is especially limited in the western portion of the county, where residents must travel at least 45 minutes to reach a provider. In 2025, NYHealth awarded Sullivan 180 a grant to support the planning of a new primary care clinic model in the western portion of rural Sullivan County. 

Under this grant, Sullivan 180, in partnership with faculty affiliated with NYU’s School of Global Public Health, will lead a community-informed planning process by engaging health care leaders, residents, and regional providers to define services, workforce roles, and telehealth integration. They will assess licensure pathways with expert support and secure health care partnerships to support staffing, data-sharing, and telehealth, and explore long-term collaborations to sustain and scale the model. 

Make the Road New York

More than 4.2 million immigrants live in New York State, including 600,000 individuals who are undocumented, in mixed-status households, or have special authorization to be present.

Under the current federal administration, immigrants are facing the rollback of health care protections and access. Executive orders and proposals have created a climate of fear and uncertainty, especially for low-income and transgender immigrants. Immigrant communities are facing the potential for widescale untreated medical conditions, increased health disparities, and mental health problems, like anxiety and depression. New York’s immigrant-serving CBOs are on the frontlines, responding to urgent health care and mental health needs, advocating for immigrant and worker protections and policies, and countering anti-immigrant narratives in the media and public discourse. These organizations are stretched to the limit. In 2025, NYHealth awarded Make the Road NY (MRNY) a grant to provide services in urban and rural communities and coordinate activities across partners to support a broad statewide response.  

Under this grant, MRNY will provide up-to-date information and education about immigrant health care access and relevant policies to stakeholders. MRNY will conduct education and navigation for immigrants in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. It will support health care institutions to uphold a universal standard of care for immigrants and produce culturally and linguistically appropriate materials about rapidly changing policies and eligibility guidelines. MRNY will also partner with statewide advocacy groups to increase public understanding about the impact of policy changes on immigrant and transgender communities.  

NYHealth also awarded complementary grants to the Neighborhood Funders Group and Asian American Federation.  

Newburgh Urban Food and Farm, Inc.

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 2021 NYHealth grant, Newburgh Urban Farm and Food, Inc. (NUFFI) conducted the first in-depth study of Newburgh’s food system, which included 72 community meetings and events and surveys with 600 local leaders and residents. In 2024, NYHealth awarded NUFFI a grant to operationalize its plan to make healthy, local food more available to Newburgh residents.  

Under this grant, NUFFI will enhance the city’s emergency food system by reducing overlap and gaps in food availability, building capacity among providers, supporting language access, and facilitating a workgroup of food pantry managers. NUFFI will develop and publish a map of food resources and assets for residents, including food retail locations that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), emergency food schedules and contact information, farmers market programs and schedules, culturally relevant food access points, and food and nutrition education materials. NUFFI will also increase market opportunities for local growers through capacity building, formalize the structure for its task force and working groups, and implement additional programs to increase access to healthy, affordable, local foods.  

Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming

New York State’s Hudson Valley region is home to thousands of farms that produce millions of pounds of food annually.

And yet, many Hudson Valley and nearby New York City residents struggle with food insecurity and lack access to nutrient-dense, fresh food. The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model is one way to create access to healthy foods supplied by local farms, but it has historically been out of reach for SNAP recipients. In 2024, NYHealth awarded the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming a grant to provide support across a network of farms in the Hudson Valley to expand a replicable CSA program for SNAP customers.

Under this grant, Glynwood will promote outreach, scaling, and replication of the CSA is a SNAP program throughout the region and State. The program provides SNAP customers with a 1:1 matching benefit, allows them to make weekly payments, and ensures farmers receive the full cost of CSA shares for SNAP customers. It will also allow SNAP customers in the Hudson Valley and New York City to have easier access to fresh, locally grown food, and small-scale farms in the region will have new markets that improve their economic viability.

Rock Steady Farm

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. However, stark disparities persist by race and ethnicity, and communities of color experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity and diet-related disease. The communities most affected by these disparities often have the best solutions to improving food equity. However, systemic barriers often exist, and historically, organizations led by people of color have not had equal access to or benefited from traditional philanthropy funds and resources. In 2024, NYHealth issued an inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), “Healthy Food, Healthy Lives: Supporting a More Equitable Food System,” to advance racial health equity in the food system. NYHealth awarded Rock Steady Farm (RSF) a grant to participate in this initiative. 

Under this grant, RSF will assist queer, trans, and BIPOC (QTBIPOC)-led farms to procure fresh produce and products throughout New York City and the Hudson Valley. New farmers often lack the infrastructure to pursue purchasing contracts from large public institutions or wholesale orders. To address this challenge, RSF will leverage its logistical and transportation infrastructure; high demand for its produce in the New York City area; and community-based relationships to support QTBIPOC-led farms. It will also coordinate with food hub cooperative Brooklyn Packers and the Northeast Farmers of Color Network, a network of queer, trans, and BIPOC farmers and stakeholders, to provide support to other farms interested in reaching the New York City market with their products. RSF will also supplement its weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with produce and products from small farms, and it will strengthen its partnerships with project collaborators to coordinate in-person and virtual convenings with key farmers, distribution partners, and service providers.  

See a full list of grantees working to advance racial health equity in the food system. 

 

 

Columbia County Sanctuary Movement

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. However, stark disparities persist by race and ethnicity, and communities of color experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity and diet-related disease. The communities most affected by these disparities often have the best solutions to improving food equity. However, systemic barriers often exist, and historically, organizations led by people of color have not had equal access to or benefited from traditional philanthropy funds and resources. In 2024, NYHealth issued an inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), “Healthy Food, Healthy Lives: Supporting a More Equitable Food System,” to advance racial health equity in the food system. NYHealth awarded Columbia County Sanctuary Movement (CCSM) a grant to participate in this initiative. 

Under this grant, CCSM expanded and formalized its Comida Para La Gente (CPLG) food justice program to enhance the health and nourishment of immigrant communities in upstate New York. It developed contracts and procurement processes with local farms to enable them to plan crops; guarantee income ahead of production season; and provided more culturally relevant, locally-sourced produce in CPLG’s weekly meals. CCSM worked to connect farms with local schools, hospitals, and larger institutions. CCSM also established a Food Justice Advisory Committee, comprising stakeholders with expertise and lived experience, to help community members develop long term partnerships and ensured that each farm’s crop planning, meal planning, and contract negotiations align with community needs.  

 

See a full list of grantees working to advance racial health equity in the food system. 

 

 

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