SHIFTING TO HEALTH BUCKS OVER THE SUMMER
PROJECT PEOPLE FOUNDATION Glimmer of Hope grant was awarded to Meals For Good, Inc to help distribute 1000 $2.00 coupons called Health Bucks that can be used at every farmers market and food box site in New York City. This grant was specifically for use in Central and East Harlem to reduce food insecurity.
Meals For Good, Inc purchased an additional 1000 Health Bucks
Altogether, 2000 Health Bucks were distributed to the following organizations:
1. The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. Founded in 1995, Bro/Sis provides long-term support services to youth who range in age from 8-22 years. The organization focuses on issues such as leadership development and educational achievement, sexual responsibility, and social justice. Bro/Sis provides four-six year rites of passage programming, including school and home counseling, summer camps, job training and employment, college preparation, community organizing training, and international study programs to Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Bro/Sis is locally based in Central Harlem.
One Bro/Sis program is their Hamilton Heights Youth Farmers Market which operates every Wednesday from July through November. Each season they sell over 4 tons of fresh and healthy food to local residents. In addition, through workshops and hands-on management of the market, youth develop business skills, learn about healthy eating, and explore career opportunities in the environmental sector.
Since COVID-19, Bro/Sis has also been giving out 60-100 boxes of food to families in need twice a month on the same day the Youth market runs.
Distribution of Health Bucks occurred on Sept 9 and 23rd to the families that picked up food boxes and then could walk across the street to use the Health Bucks at the Youth market.
2. Harlem Restoration Tenant Project. Founded in 1977, Harlem Restoration Tenant Project (HRP) has assisted thousands of families to obtain housing services. Currently, HRP has title to three multiple dwelling with a total of 200 predominately low-income units with comprehensive services for tenants, including social services, computer literary, physical fitness, job referral and development, affordable housing, and an Ex-offender Redirection Program helping long term ex-offenders make the transitions from prison.
These were distributed during the months of September and October in coordination with Farmers Market tours led by a social worker, Ta-Tanisha Rice who also distributed recipes for some of the produce bought at the markets and reviewed the benefits of eating healthy.
3. City University of New York, for the CUNY Food Justice Leadership Fellowship which was created with the intent to generate a pipeline for alumni of youth food justice programs, who are between 18-25 years and attend a school within the CUNY network. This paid fellowship started just two months before COVID was first diagnosed in NYC! Currently there are 20 CUNY students enrolled in the program and some of the program participants expressed family and financial hardship due to job loss for themselves or family members due to COVID-19.
4. Go! Healthy Children’s Aid is a childhood obesity prevention and health promotion initiative that gets children of all ages excited about eating healthy foods and provides families with the resources to live healthy, active lifestyles. Go!Healthy cooking classes, gardening, and nutrition education programming are implemented across most of our sites and centers in New York City. Go! Healthy started the Farmers’ Market Walks (FMW) back in 2016 to connect low-income families to nutrition education through visits to their local farmers' markets in the East Harlem area. The original structure used a weekly nutrition lesson and recipe demonstration/tasting at the farmers' markets. Later, they added a fruit and vegetable tour component where the nutritionist gave shopping tips.
Since COVID, they have adapted their model to a weekly live stream zoom in English and Spanish through the farmers market on East 104th Street. They have also focused on ensuring safety, following health protocols to ensure social distancing guidelines and wearing masks.
At the end of each weekly tour during September, participants received five Health Bucks ($10) per family.
TESTIMONIALS
5. The Go! Healthy Food Box program distributes fresh, local produce to community members throughout East and Central Harlem and has been doing so through support from a SNAP-Ed grant since 2015. In partnership with GrowNYC, the program purchases wholesale local fruit, vegetables, and herbs, and packs them into bags to be sold to community members at a discounted rate. EBT/SNAP benefits can be used to purchase bags, along with cash, credit/debit, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program checks (WIC and Senior FMNP) and Health Bucks coupons.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has shifted to a sliding scale payment structure, which has allowed a majority Black and Latinx communities who were hit especially hard, be it through unemployment or illness, to continue to receive this critical resource regardless of ability to pay.
These coupons have been distributed to families at the Central Park East II Elementary School which recently opened. They were distributed to families who could not make the minimum payment for the bags of produce, so they received free weekly supplies of vegetables and fruit to feed their families; critical support for folks who are still feeling the full effect of the pandemic on their financial security.
TESTIMONIALS
6. Violence Intervention Program was founded in 1984, Violence Intervention Program (VIP) is a Latina-led organization that provides healing, housing and economic justice to thousands of survivors of domestic and sexual violence in NYC each year. One of their shelters and some of their apartments are in Harlem.
A staff person took them to a farmer’s market and gave them 10 Health Bucks each (or more if it was a large family) and they included recipes and talked about healthy eating. There are no pictures since these women are in hiding, but below are some of their responses.
TESTIMONIALS
A client lost her job in a restaurant during the pandemic as consequence of the abuse. In addition, client got COVID-19 and cannot work for several weeks. As per client, she is suffering of stomach and must eat healthy. Client stated, “you don’t have any idea how much those Health Bucks helping me because I have access to eat fresh fruits and vegetables that help me to recuperate my health”.
7. National Black Leadership Commission on Health champions the promotion of health and prevention of diseases to reduce disparities and achieve equity within the black community, but over the last few months they have been signing people up to vote and helping them fill out the census.
NBLCH, in an effort to attract more people to fill out the census, offered $6 worth of Health Bucks. This was done at two fairs: one at the Hope For Harlem, led by State Senator Brian Benjamin, and the other in front of the State Office Building with the addition of free groceries. Both sites were also near farmers markets that were open the same day as the fair.
Meals For Good, Inc purchased an additional 1000 Health Bucks
Altogether, 2000 Health Bucks were distributed to the following organizations:
1. The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. Founded in 1995, Bro/Sis provides long-term support services to youth who range in age from 8-22 years. The organization focuses on issues such as leadership development and educational achievement, sexual responsibility, and social justice. Bro/Sis provides four-six year rites of passage programming, including school and home counseling, summer camps, job training and employment, college preparation, community organizing training, and international study programs to Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Bro/Sis is locally based in Central Harlem.
One Bro/Sis program is their Hamilton Heights Youth Farmers Market which operates every Wednesday from July through November. Each season they sell over 4 tons of fresh and healthy food to local residents. In addition, through workshops and hands-on management of the market, youth develop business skills, learn about healthy eating, and explore career opportunities in the environmental sector.
Since COVID-19, Bro/Sis has also been giving out 60-100 boxes of food to families in need twice a month on the same day the Youth market runs.
Distribution of Health Bucks occurred on Sept 9 and 23rd to the families that picked up food boxes and then could walk across the street to use the Health Bucks at the Youth market.
2. Harlem Restoration Tenant Project. Founded in 1977, Harlem Restoration Tenant Project (HRP) has assisted thousands of families to obtain housing services. Currently, HRP has title to three multiple dwelling with a total of 200 predominately low-income units with comprehensive services for tenants, including social services, computer literary, physical fitness, job referral and development, affordable housing, and an Ex-offender Redirection Program helping long term ex-offenders make the transitions from prison.
These were distributed during the months of September and October in coordination with Farmers Market tours led by a social worker, Ta-Tanisha Rice who also distributed recipes for some of the produce bought at the markets and reviewed the benefits of eating healthy.
3. City University of New York, for the CUNY Food Justice Leadership Fellowship which was created with the intent to generate a pipeline for alumni of youth food justice programs, who are between 18-25 years and attend a school within the CUNY network. This paid fellowship started just two months before COVID was first diagnosed in NYC! Currently there are 20 CUNY students enrolled in the program and some of the program participants expressed family and financial hardship due to job loss for themselves or family members due to COVID-19.
4. Go! Healthy Children’s Aid is a childhood obesity prevention and health promotion initiative that gets children of all ages excited about eating healthy foods and provides families with the resources to live healthy, active lifestyles. Go!Healthy cooking classes, gardening, and nutrition education programming are implemented across most of our sites and centers in New York City. Go! Healthy started the Farmers’ Market Walks (FMW) back in 2016 to connect low-income families to nutrition education through visits to their local farmers' markets in the East Harlem area. The original structure used a weekly nutrition lesson and recipe demonstration/tasting at the farmers' markets. Later, they added a fruit and vegetable tour component where the nutritionist gave shopping tips.
Since COVID, they have adapted their model to a weekly live stream zoom in English and Spanish through the farmers market on East 104th Street. They have also focused on ensuring safety, following health protocols to ensure social distancing guidelines and wearing masks.
At the end of each weekly tour during September, participants received five Health Bucks ($10) per family.
TESTIMONIALS
- I am a single mother of two young children, ages 3 and 6. My kids were born here in the United States; I used to have SNAP, but I received a letter, and they took away the food stamps 6 months ago. Before the pandemic, I used to clean houses, but now there is almost no work, and I have to take care of my children because schools are closed. I try to go to the pantry near my house, but most food is canned or packaged and very few fresh produce. My kids love fresh fruits and vegetables; I use the health bucks to buy fresh produce at the market here in Harlem. Also, attending the zoom nutrition classes gives me some ideas about cooking with fresh vegetables and allows me to ask questions about feeding healthy foods to my kids.
- I am a mother of three children, ages 8, 10, and 16. My husband used to work in restaurants in the kitchen. Since the pandemic started, he is working fewer hours, and money is becoming significantly tighter. I am concerned about my children's health, and I know they need to eat more vegetables, but sometimes it is hard to buy healthy foods when things are so tight in our house. I am grateful to receive the health bucks coupons and because they help me buy fresh vegetables for my family.
5. The Go! Healthy Food Box program distributes fresh, local produce to community members throughout East and Central Harlem and has been doing so through support from a SNAP-Ed grant since 2015. In partnership with GrowNYC, the program purchases wholesale local fruit, vegetables, and herbs, and packs them into bags to be sold to community members at a discounted rate. EBT/SNAP benefits can be used to purchase bags, along with cash, credit/debit, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program checks (WIC and Senior FMNP) and Health Bucks coupons.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has shifted to a sliding scale payment structure, which has allowed a majority Black and Latinx communities who were hit especially hard, be it through unemployment or illness, to continue to receive this critical resource regardless of ability to pay.
These coupons have been distributed to families at the Central Park East II Elementary School which recently opened. They were distributed to families who could not make the minimum payment for the bags of produce, so they received free weekly supplies of vegetables and fruit to feed their families; critical support for folks who are still feeling the full effect of the pandemic on their financial security.
TESTIMONIALS
- Yolanda and her husband were laid off at the start of the pandemic. She mentioned that these bags have helped her out so much because she does not have the money to make many trips to the supermarket. She also likes that every week there is something different, it’s like a little surprise every week. Thanks to these Health bucks, C is able to take at least two bags home weekly!
- Delcia and her family have been a part of the CPE2 school community for years. Also, they are no strangers to the Food Box program but because of COVID, she has been having difficulty feeding her whole family who are home now, three meals a day. These Health Bucks have helped her to bring home 2-3 bags of fresh produce for her family. Thank you!
6. Violence Intervention Program was founded in 1984, Violence Intervention Program (VIP) is a Latina-led organization that provides healing, housing and economic justice to thousands of survivors of domestic and sexual violence in NYC each year. One of their shelters and some of their apartments are in Harlem.
A staff person took them to a farmer’s market and gave them 10 Health Bucks each (or more if it was a large family) and they included recipes and talked about healthy eating. There are no pictures since these women are in hiding, but below are some of their responses.
TESTIMONIALS
- “I don’t qualify for public benefits and I’ve been relying on school meals. It has been a while since I’ve eaten healthy and with the health bucks, I was able to buy vegetables and fruits. Thank you to you and your program.” – Ms. F
- “Receiving health Bucks has been extremely helpful for my children and me. We don't qualify for food stamps, and we live in an area where I have not been able to find too many food pantries. We usually, received food from the school, but it does not always include vegetables and fruits. Having health bucks is a financial relief and peace of mind that my children will have healthy food." Ms. M
- “When I called up my client to let her know about the Health Bucks, she was very happy and could not believe it. She is a domestic violence survivor with her son and she is residing in shelter. She has been unable to find a job because of the Pandemic. The Health Bucks helped her and her son to buy fresh fruits and vegetable from the Green Market. Thank you very much as she stated “ Carmen (staff member).
A client lost her job in a restaurant during the pandemic as consequence of the abuse. In addition, client got COVID-19 and cannot work for several weeks. As per client, she is suffering of stomach and must eat healthy. Client stated, “you don’t have any idea how much those Health Bucks helping me because I have access to eat fresh fruits and vegetables that help me to recuperate my health”.
7. National Black Leadership Commission on Health champions the promotion of health and prevention of diseases to reduce disparities and achieve equity within the black community, but over the last few months they have been signing people up to vote and helping them fill out the census.
NBLCH, in an effort to attract more people to fill out the census, offered $6 worth of Health Bucks. This was done at two fairs: one at the Hope For Harlem, led by State Senator Brian Benjamin, and the other in front of the State Office Building with the addition of free groceries. Both sites were also near farmers markets that were open the same day as the fair.