NYC Archives - New York Health Foundation

God’s Love We Deliver

People experiencing food insecurity often face poorer diet quality, higher rates of diet-related illnesses, and greater health care costs. Research shows that medically supportive food and nutrition services—known as Food Is Medicine (FIM)—can reduce the severity of these problems. Veterans generally experience worse health outcomes and higher rates of food insecurity compared to civilians. A recent veterans’ needs assessment commissioned by NYHealth found that one-quarter of veterans in New York experienced food insecurity in the past year. Yet, few FIM models have been tailored to meet the specific needs of veterans. In 2022, NYHealth awarded God’s Love We Deliver a grant to develop and launch a FIM pilot to serve veterans, with a focus on veterans with behavioral health diagnoses. God’s Love developed an enhanced menu optimized for mental health, expanded community outreach, and trained staff to deliver trauma-informed, culturally competent care to veterans. In 2024, NYHealth awarded God’s Love We Deliver a grant to expand its Phase 1 pilot to improve the health and food security of veterans.

Under this grant, God’s Love will double program enrollment to 1,250 veterans and 250 caregivers and children. To identify and enroll veterans, it will continue and expand referral partnerships with Veterans Affairs hospitals and veteran-serving health care and community-based organizations in New York City. Veterans will receive weekly deliveries of 10–21 meals; nutrition therapy through individualized counseling; and social supports. God’s Love will also collect, analyze, and share qualitative and clinical outcome data to make the case for expanded FIM programs for veterans, with the ultimate goal of securing Medicaid, Medicare, and Tricare reimbursement for FIM services.

NYHealth is also supporting a complementary initiative with the Maxwell X Lab at Syracuse University.

Primary Care for All Americans (Fiscal sponsor: Global Impact) 

New York State’s primary care advocacy efforts are primarily led by provider organizations working to advance policy and practice changes. Consumer advocacy groups are increasingly engaging on primary care issues with a focus on patients’ needs. Yet a key voice remains underrepresented: grassroots, community-level movements that directly involve primary care providers, community leaders, and patients in local advocacy and solutions development. Community-led models are emerging, but remain limited; many communities still lack the leadership and resources to create these types of initiatives. In 2024, NYHealth awarded Primary Care for All Americans (PC4AA) a grant to expand New York’s primary care advocacy network.

Under this grant, PC4AA will build relationships with community members, health care providers, and other stakeholders to understand community needs and develop culturally aligned strategies to address primary care access challenges in Queens. It will establish a grassroots network of primary care advocates with a targeted plan to improve primary care access locally. Over time, this grassroots model will complement efforts to increase primary care access and equity statewide.

Council on the Environment, Inc. dba GrowNYC

At least 2.5 million New Yorkers face food insecurity, which disproportionately affects communities of color, immigrants, and non-English speaking populations. Many food-insecure New Yorkers with low income depend on farmers markets and farmstands—such as GrowNYC’s extensive network—for access to fresh food. But GrowNYC has experienced operational challenges, particularly related to a paper-based benefits system that has led to delays in reimbursement to farmers and administrative burdens for farmers and customers. Language barriers have also historically limited equitable participation. In 2022, NYHealth awarded GrowNYC a grant to develop a comprehensive language access plan to improve equitable access to healthy food. In 2024, NYHealth awarded GrowNYC a grant to expand access to fresh, healthy food in underserved communities by modernizing its digital systems and implementing its Phase 1 language access plan.

Under this grant, GrowNYC will enhance the administration, accessibility, and equity of its food programs. It plans to transition from a paper-based coupon system to a fully digital platform by the end of 2026; onboard and train farmers and staff on the new platform, including providing ongoing technical support; and evaluate the platform’s effectiveness through feedback from farmers, staff, and customers to assess key metrics. To implement its language access plan, GrowNYC will embed language justice into its operations, develop multilingual resources, and host quarterly meetings for Spanish-speaking farmers. Additionally, it will translate key materials into at least five languages, provide interpretation services, and expand language access across all GrowNYC education programs.

Justice Innovation, Inc., dba The Center for Justice Innovation

Founded in Buffalo in 2008, Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) offer eligible veterans an alternative to incarceration by providing treatment for mental health and/or substance use disorders. NYHealth played a key role in securing universal access to VTCs statewide, a crucial step forward. However, ongoing efforts are needed to maximize the new policy’s impact and improve the quality of VTCs. A critical component of successful VTC programs is the role of peer mentors, but limited statewide data exist on their distribution and demographics and the quality and scope of peer mentor services. In 2024, NYHealth awarded The Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) a grant to evaluate the equitable distribution and representation of high-quality peer mentors in VTCs statewide.

Under this grant, CJI will standardize and elevate the role of VTC peer mentors. CJI will convene an advisory committee of stakeholders; conduct a statewide survey to collect data from VTCs and partners; monitor and evaluate outcomes for VTC participants with peer mentors; assess mentors to identify opportunities for improvement; update and disseminate a handbook for mentors; create a formal peer mentor network; and develop and share statewide recommendations to strengthen VTC peer mentoring.

New York University, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Nationally and in New York State, we spend only about five cents of every health care dollar on primary care. Underinvestment runs counter to what we know: national research demonstrates that primary care has a high return on investment. But New York State lacks specific evidence demonstrating the effects of primary care investment in its unique health care market. There is a clear need for rigorous, objective, and New York-specific analysis to showcase the potential savings and value of primary care investment based on actual health insurance claims data. In 2024, NYHealth awarded The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University (NYU Wagner) a grant to analyze the relationship between primary care investment and associated outcomes in health, quality, and cost savings for Medicaid health insurance claims in New York State.

Under this grant, NYU Wagner will develop analytic frameworks and methodologies to understand the relationship between primary care investment and health outcomes. In partnership with Dartmouth researchers, NYU Wagner will conduct analyses that describe the association between primary care investment and health outcomes and expenditures, as well as assess how Medicaid health plans’ spending on primary care affects enrollees’ health care utilization and expenditures. NYU Wagner will share the findings to inform advocacy efforts and policy improvements.

New York University, School of Medicine

Smaller, nonacademic organizations often lack the experience, time, and resources needed to conduct and implement evaluations that are critical to effective program execution and sustainability.

To address this need among its own grantees, NYHealth began funding, in 2008, a technical assistance initiative that offers additional support in strengthening the evaluation aspects of grantee projects. With funding from NYHealth, the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine has provided direct assistance to selected grantees, held training workshops for grantees, and created an online evaluation toolkit to be used by potential NYHealth applicants and current grantees. Through continued support from NYHealth, the evaluation technical assistance program has built on the successes of previous years. In 2024, NYHealth awarded NYU a grant to continue this initiative for NYHealth grantees.

Under this grant, NYU will continue to provide evaluation technical assistance workshops for grantees that cover a range of topics, including developing a logic model; designing and implementing a process and outcome evaluation; and coding and analyzing qualitative data. NYU will continue to offer workshop content through monthly, interactive webinar learning sessions, with a potential hybrid approach in late 2024 or early 2025. Participants will further receive evaluation workshop presentations and other resources in an electronic format. NYU will also reach out to new grantees to schedule an initial, one-hour consultation. The evaluation team will provide enhanced technical assistance to grantee organizations over a one-year period and offer customized support, depending on grantee needs. Lastly, NYU will send out periodic reminders to grantees about the availability of technical assistance.

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