COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN

Hi, Thank you for visiting our Community Action Plan Page. The C.A.P. is the NYC Food and Fitness Partnerships proposal for how the partnership envisions NYC and how we plan to bring about this change. The partnerships goal is to improve the healthy opportunities that are available to NYC residents. (see about us page) . The C.A.P. is still very much a work in progress so please feel free to sent your comments and suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . As we complete the sections , we will be posting them so please come back and see any updates. Thanks again for visiting this page and we hope to hear your feedback!

 

COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN ( C.A.P. )

SECTION 1 : Articulate a clear, compelling, collective vision

What is the future you truly care about creating for children, youth, and families in your community?
Our mission is to engage communities in making the healthy choice the easy choice by creating equitable access to healthy, quality, affordable foods and opportunities for active living, starting in the neighborhoods of highest need.

What will that look like? What will children, youth and families experience?
Through our city-wide policy focus, all New Yorkers share an equal quality of life, as evidenced by access to healthy and affordable food and opportunities for active living through spaces that accommodate all needs. Through our specific community focus, that will center around Central Brooklyn and work in partnership with the Strategic Alliance in South Bronx and Harlem, people who live and work in low income and communities of color celebrate vibrant markets, gardens, and institutions that provide fresh, affordable healthy foods as well as places for play and a built environment that supports daily active living, like interconnected bike paths, reduced traffic, plenty of green spaces and parks that draw communities together socially and safely. Children attend schools that foster healthy lifestyles through curricula that support daily physical activity, food and fitness oriented education and healthy, locally procured food options. After school opportunities are readily available to all children that include healthful snacks and physical activities. The people who live and work in our target communities play a critical role with us as partners in shaping these outcomes and successes, along with civic, business, and governmental support. Strong and creative partnerships with various food and fitness oriented organization in New York city are at the core of the work and through these relationships, the crises of obesity and related illnesses are a thing of the past. Now, New York City leads the country in progressive policy reform with respect to food and active living in a diverse, urban setting and is positioned as a national and international model. In our schools and neighborhoods, it is no longer acceptable to promote unhealthy food aggressively and everywhere healthy food is now easier to find and more affordable than unhealthy food.



When we achieve our vision, in our communities we will see--- (from Systems Thinking training)
Youth Activity in School and Community

· Every new school will be built with a gym or a walk to exercise

· Youth would have access to gym classes

· Physical education several times a week in the public schools

· Children will have regular activity in gym class

· Gym/recess every day every school after school dance and sports

· Our community will have organized physical fitness programs in schools

· Physically activity and then TV in after school and weekend hours

· School PE legislation is enforced and implemented in all schools



Built Environment that Supports Active Living, including Safe Places
· Youth and adults will see more parks and recreation centers they can access

· Children can play in their streets

· Beautiful parks and gardens that are venues for music and sports.

· Every child lives within a safe, five block walk from a park or playground that meets their play needs: grass, fields, games, etc that are what they want to play

· There will be safe, clean, green places to play and/or exercise within a short distance of every resident

· Parents and children would walk more on safe pathways

· Safe, attractive green/living playgrounds in walking distance for all children in our three communities

· Safe bicycling paths

· A really complete bicycle network – parking, lanes, safety, facilities

· Bike routes that are safe and maintained.

· No pedestrian/cyclist fatalities due to crashes

· It is easy and safe to bicycle anywhere in the city

· Safe biking infrastructure on the majority of streets

· Green pathways within hpd housing each with ½, 1, 2 mile markers continually being used.

· Green spaces for active living; social engagement and cultural exchange

· A healthy outdoor play space for every child

· Active healthy people engaging in fun physical activities

· Experience water front center/area for recreational activities and physical activity

· A clean Hudson River safe for play and activities

· Green space and walkways

· Our transportation system encourages walking and fewer people need and use cars to reach their destinations


Active Living Supported in Communities
· Free dance or exercise classes in all communities

· Everyone who wants to will have access to a free or low cost Zumba class

· Use of waterways for transportation and recreation

· Parks with active, utilized programming

· Regular stair use by the majority of residents

· Community sponsored sports teams

· Buildings with stair prompts posted at elevators and escalators

· There will be secure bicycle parking in all schools, worksites and apartment complexes

· NYC bike share program

· A bike share program with drop/off – pick up locations with in 100 yards of each other

· No traffic in Manhattan except taxis and ambulances and buses, lots of bikes and bike paths and walking

· The streets would be filled with multiple modes (pedestrians, cyclists, motorists) of a range of ages and a mix of gender

· Many people cycling as a mode of transport

· Increase shape-up program park programs.

· Dance and exercise programs at NYCHA Housing

· Gardens providing beautification plants to neighborhood groups

· Community walking program in Mott Haven



School, Community and Home Healthy Foods
· Local healthy fruits and vegetables in school meals year-round (as much as possible)

· No school will be forced into coercive contracts with soda or juice companies due to insufficient funding

· All kids will eat breakfast and lunch in school…and it’s high quality, good food

· Organic or natural school lunch

· Youth and adults will experience better eating habits

· Young people will experience more diversity and opportunities for after school activities that provide them healthy eating and AL options

· Youth will see more activities related to learning about healthy food choices and healthy eating

· Schools, senior centers and food kitchen pantries only serve healthy, delicious food to everyone

· Kids eating healthy breakfasts instead of soda, chips on the subway

· Families eating healthy dinners together

· Youth will see fresh low cost local produce in their community

· That school food will be delicious and nutritious

· Youth participating in the growing and distribution of food from the farm

· Youth learning about the ecology of SDx, and food systems and EJ from work and classes at the farm

· Nutrition would be part of public school education for K-12

· Hands-on cooking – nutrition education as a staple of DOE curriculum

· Children growing food in school, learning about science through gardening, eating well

· Access to food gardening for every public school student

· Youth will grow food for their school café’s

· Adults and youth consume food that they grew

· A majority of NYC residents eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables.

· Access to community gardening for all who want it

· Good green food and fitness job creation

· Healthy foods in all bodegas

· Better utilization of Federal nutrition programs

· High quality foods available in target communities

· Quality healthy affordable food choices for all Harlem residences

· Local farms for local supermarkets

· More community garden activities

· There will be more supermarkets carrying fresh/quality veggies

· More equitable access to fresh produce in their neighborhoods

· Seniors getting produce from the farm for individual consumption and at senior lunch programs

· Farms helping to supply food pantries and family shelters

· A working urban farm in Deegan Rock in South Bronx

· An abundance of veggies and fruits, especially local ones, in low-income communities…and lots of folks buying, cooking and enjoying them

· Corner stores would offer affordable, seasonal local food

· Everyone would live within five minutes walk of a store with high quality, fresh foods

· All NYC food is local and organic and healthy

· Adults will stop at farmers markets throughout the year in addition to their neighborhood supermarket

· More food choices

· Urban farms in three coalition communities

· Affordable retail outlets to healthy foods/fresh fruits and vegetables in easy walking distance for all community members

· Local, healthy affordable food sold in supermarkets in low-income and communities of color.

· Expansion of farm markets

· Community food gardening and cooking would be a frequent, common, intergenerational activity

· There would be greening of the streets and spaces – lots of mini-gardens, garden boxes – everyone has access to grow their own food

· Adults will experience supermarkets and corner stores selling local food

· Supermarkets are now closing in low income communities

· The majority of Bodegas are carrying at least some fruits and vegetables

· Adults will see their children purchasing good foods at bodegas

· Produce from local farmers will be stocked by local grocers

· A green cart or farmers market every few blocks in the DPHO areas

· Local greenmarkets and “victory” style gardens

· Farmers’ Markets (youth markets) in target neighborhoods

· Youth and adults will have access to more fruit stands, etc.

· There would be a mechanism as in farmers markets, CSA, community gardens, supermarkets, in every community that provides healthy, affordable local/regional food to the entire community

· Fruits and vegetables will be affordable and junk food will be more expensive.

· Young people and adults will see, hear and experience consistent messaging related to healthy lifestyles in their homes, at school, afterschool, work, on public transportation, online and on TV

· Green markets will be in every neighborhood and residents will know where they are

· Adults will hear their children ask to help them make meals at home

· Green walkways in low-income and communities of color

· A Green Hunt’s Point Terminal Produce Market that serves the surrounding S. Bronx Community

· Increase open spaces

· Green roofs for farming

· Local fruits and vegetables are grown onsite in/on more buildings.

· More “green spaces” or community gardens in their neighborhoods

· It will not be acceptable to profit by persuading children and families to consume food that will make them sick and shorten their lives


Healthy People and Environment
· Our community will be healthier and cleaner – decrease in chronic illness, e.g. obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc.


Community Involvement
· Youth and adults contributing to planning in their neighborhoods

· Community decision-making and planning process

· Politically active communities…particularly on these issues

· There would be neighbors and residents chatting on the streets


Policy
· Living-wage jobs for all/vibrant economy

· Elected officials taking food and fitness issues seriously…prioritizing them in legislation and policy

· Parks department no longer charges membership for recreation programs and outdoor part recreation programs expanding

· The goal of public policies will be to make healthy choices easy choices


What difference will this make in the lives of vulnerable children and their families?
The policy and system changes that we work on and influence will have a transformative effect on our communities because they will:

• Tear down structures that are in our communities to create the food and fitness environment that we envision (i.e. changing transportation systems, taking back parks, decreasing the prevalence of advertisements for unhealthful foods in our communities,, working with the Department of Education, particularly the Office of SchoolFood and the Office of Fitness and Health, Department of Health (which has done wellness policy implementation work) and the Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy.

• Build new structures (green spaces, public plazas, bike paths, grocery stores, healthy foods in bodegas, local food procurement systems)

• Provide people with access to healthy “things” (food, programming, parks) and reduce availability of unhealthy “things” Together these will changes will create new norms that will truly make healthy choices the easy choices for all New Yorkers.



What are your highest aspirations for food and fitness environments in your community?
Building the dignity for all citizens to have access to the resources they need to be healthy.We see a central role of the NYC Food and Fitness Partnership to leverage a common vision across many organizations that will allow us to inspire thriving communities across the city. NYC is a big city that already has many organizations, so instead of being something “new, different or apart” we will serve as a force to unite and move forward policy and system change that will work toward the vision of “making healthy choices the easy choices, especially for the most vulnerable.”

What are the values and purpose of the food and fitness collaborative that are the foundation for pursuing this vision (from the Systems Thinking and Learning Session in Sept)Core Values – Values that the Partnership will act on

1. The NYC Food and Fitness Partnership believes that all communities should provide opportunities that promote physical activity. Providing better access to locally-grown fruits and vegetables, gardening green space, nutrition education makes the healthy choice the easy choice.

2. The NYC Food and Fitness Partnership believes that:

· Improving health requires a holistic approach (that recognizes that food and fitness is embedded in social, economic, environmental and political realities).

· A holistic approach requires change among individuals, families, communities, institutions, business, government structures and policies.

3. The NYC Food and Fitness Partnership believes that food and fitness work/planning must be driven by community voices especially those that have been excluded.

4. The Food and Fitness Partnership believes in equitable access to healthy, quality, affordable foods and the opportunities and infrastructure for active living that advances social and environmental justice.

5. (Group agreed to pull out “advance social and environmental justice as a separate value.) Resulting statement:

Justice (value statement)
The Food and Fitness Partnership believes in [community empowerment for] equitable access to affordable healthy foods and [infrastructure or] quality public spaces for active living, in all communities [especially communities of color and low income.]
Note: Parentheses include phrases that may or may not be included. They need more conversation.

6. Food and Fitness Partnership believes that inspiring hope and creativity fuels our possibilities.

7. Food and Fitness Partnership depends on the contributions and expertise of individuals, including youth living and working in our communities. Food and Fitness Partnership respects the history and social, cultural and physical assets of each community. All communities and populations have an equal right to health and government has an obligation to promote health equity Work not done on these potential value statements:

8. Relationship/Time Interpersonal Relationship-building Trust

9. A community that is inclusive of all….What are your anticipated long-term outcomes for this work?

• Address policy by working towards, including advocating for, laws as well as administrative rules, policies, procedures and incentives that support our vision at the organizational, city, state, and federal levels;
• Inspire improvements among our own organizations’ policies and environments so as to become models for access to healthy food and active living opportunities;
• Reduced health and social inequalities among NYC’s communities
• Provide opportunities for members to take action on Food and Fitness related issues and to build organizational capacity to take action in support of our vision;
• Policy specific opportunities:

Healthy Eating
1) Increase access to healthy food
2) Reduce cost of healthy food
3) Reduce availability and promotion of unhealthy foods in schools and communities
4) Improve food served in schools and City agencies

Active Living
1) Promote physical activity throughout NYC
2) Increase safety of and access to neighborhood parks
3) Increase opportunities for accessible and safe walking
4) Improve length and quality of physical activity and sports programs in schools.

Community Specific Opportunities
1) Support the Brooklyn community to progress along the “readiness” spectrum
2) build upon the food movement already going on in Brooklyn through the Food Conference on May 1, 2009 and the Brooklyn Food Campaigns Food Summer ’09 Program.
3) Enable schools to become models for healthy food and active living environments

 

 

SECTION 2: Describe Community Engagement

Who has been actively engaged in creating the vision? Throughout the course of the planning phase for the NYC Food and Fitness Partnership, input from diverse groups was sought and encouraged. The following key events were held to garner support and input in visioning:
i. Original Kick off meeting (June 2007)
ii. Organizational Learning and Systems Thinking (in Battle Creek- Oct 2007)
iii. Launch of Community Grants (May-Dec 2008)
iv. Community Grant Convening
v. Detroit Networking Meeting (June 2008)
vi. Organizational Learning and Systems Thinking NYC session (Sept 2008)
vii. Celebrating Healthy Communities (October 2008)
viii. Policy Priorities survey of the Steering Committee (December 2008- January 2009)
ix. Youth Forum (April 2009)
x. Listening Session(s) (May 2009)
xi. Steering Committee “retreat” (May 2009) The Steering Committee itself was most active in keeping the vision discussion moving. Opportunities for Further Impact As we narrow in our community of focus, we will be more able to deeply connect in a meaningful way with residential and organizational input. We look forward to enhanced capacity in the area of community engagement and community leadership. Our structure was initially set up to include communities, however it was not set up to prioritize their voice. We also had, and continue to have opportunities to address the clear power dynamics that exist, particularly in perceived authority and voice. That is, we have a very vocal steering committee and a lot of our members don’t realize the power that they hold by virtue of the organization they represent. That said, we have recently proposed increasing the “weight” of our community representatives vote in steering committee decisions. We are also looking to shift management and administrative functions to community representatives for at least this interim time and to help us determine the best structure for moving forward. We also are considering narrowing our programming focus to Brooklyn, given the Health Department’s new funding from CDC for the Strategic Alliance, which is very similar to the Food and Fitness Partnership, and focuses on the South Bronx and East and Central Harlem. Increasing Food and Fitness Partnership funding to Brooklyn will allow us to provide a more even distribution of resources for programming activities across these three under-resourced communities.

Who has been part of the group providing their thinking and leadership for developing the action plan? The action plan has been developed in large part by the Steering Committee, including:
City Harvest: Partnership convener; fiscal agent Since 1982, City Harvest has distributed more than 200 million pounds of food to a network of agencies that feeds 260,000 hungry New Yorkers each week. Today, City Harvest rescues and distributes 20 million pounds of food each year, to feed the hungry men, women and children of New York City. In recent years, the organization’s work has evolved from food rescue and distribution alone to increasing and sustaining the access that people living in low-income communities have to healthy food and educating them to make beneficial choices about what they eat.

NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH): Partnership convener The DOHMH is one of the oldest health departments in the nation. The NYC DOHMH stands out among local health departments in its level of commitment to and its activities in chronic disease prevention and control. Recent domestically and internationally progressive initiatives include the introduction of regulations that ban trans fats and that require calorie labeling in NYC restaurants. The NYC DOHMH is also involved in active living through both its Take the Stairs Campaign, as well as Active Design Guidelines which are currently under development. The District Public Health Offices of DOHMH focus agency resources in the three poorest communities in New York City and seek to reduce the gaps in health between these and other NYC neighborhoods.

NYC Office of the Mayor: Partnership convener; government agency coordinator. The Food Policy Coordinator works within the Office of the mayor to ensure that the City’s food policies and programs are responsive to the needs of children, families and individuals. Additional members of the Partnership Steering Committee include City Council Speaker Quinn’s Office, NYS Ag & Markets, PPS, representatives from the 3 Community Coalitions, and Chairs of each of the 5 Action Teams.

What have been the roles and extent of engagement of youth?
The Partnership has been examining models of youth participation in decision making from other sites, and working closely with TAP/Youth Engagement Associates. We expect to have this fully flushed out by the implementation time, and are solidifying our ideals in the remainder of the interim time. The April 16th Youth Forum & Expo event was specifically designed to introduce young people to tangible opportunities in food, farming and active living: from youth leadership and career-related education to paid and unpaid internships, structured volunteer activities, and jobs. The actual event planning process itself also provided an opportunity for youth engagement, one that far exceeded expectations of the project principals.

The overall project planning process was collaborative throughout the pre-event period: Baum Forum staff worked with the Youth Settings Action Team (YSAT), the Food and Fitness staff and Steering Committee and, most notably, the Youth Planning Team. The Youth Panning Team, drawn from YSAT organizations and others, was a creative resource for content and logistics as well as sounding board for ideas generated by the project principals. In addition, the YP Team provided a significant number of volunteers for the day of the event. The YP Team averaged approximately 30-35 attendees at each meeting, with a constant core of about 10 -12 returning to most of the 7 gatherings before April 16th. Mentoring relationships developed with Baum Forum staff and YSAT representatives through frequent meetings and the establishment of small working groups. (See below for more detail in Youth Engagement section.)

The April 16th event was held at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. This date was chosen because NYC public schools were on vacation and after-school programs looking for a full day of programming could be attracted. This choice also turned out to be a boon for our youth planning activities.

More than 400 people participated in the Youth Forum & Expo, including workshop and Expo presenters, volunteers and staff. The total number of attendees surpassed the goal of 350 identified in the Feasibility Study, and the estimated number of youth and their mentors was exceeded significantly (66% estimated, 90% actual). In addition, we surpassed our goal 35 exhibitors with 42 in the Expo.

The program for the day included: 20 workshops and cooking activities, 18 of which were youth-led; 7 demo/skillshare sessions; the Expo of 42 exhibitors; a closing panel and performance. Presenters and exhibitors included: EATWISE, Learn It Grow It Eat It, Brooklyn Rescue Mission, CENYC Youthmarket, BASE High School, City Gym Boys, Students for Equality and Action/DeWitt Clinton High School, Queens County Farm Museum, The Point CDC, Youth Cabinet/Hunter Science High School, Eat NY Farms!, Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp, I Challenge Myself, The Food Project, Children’s Aid Society, FamilyCook Productions, Health Equity Project, Christopher Columbus High School Icy Blue Steppers, ASPIRA Y.E.S., Grassroots Artist MovEment, Slow Food USA, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Added Value, Green Thumb, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and several others. For a complete listing, see Appendix.

Workshop presenters were chosen in a variety of ways: peer educators with existing workshop presentations were recruited specifically by Baum Forum staff; new workshops were conceptualized by staff and the Youth Planning Team; and groups proposing workshops approached us through our own on-line solicitation. To be chosen for the event, workshops had to specifically relate to food, farming, active living, entrepreneurship, activism, and internships. Each 75 minute session had to be primarily youth-led, with mentor support as needed. Some of the demo/skillshare discussions (20 minute average) were led by adults.

The Expo exhibitors were recruited through a slightly different process. All of our on-line and print outreach materials solicited Expo participants. We did substantial outreach through internet-based marketing and our own pre-registration information gathering on the event site, followed up with emails and calls. While we reserved a portion of the Expo tables for organizations presenting workshops and Baum Forum sponsors, other exhibitors were chosen primarily if they had tangible opportunities to offer youth. More than half had specific opportunities to discuss at their tables. They were categorized as: paid work opportunity, unpaid work opportunity offering school credit, unpaid work opportunity or internship, and volunteer opportunity. All groups and their offerings are listed in the Appendix.

Highlights from the Youth Forum & Expo Survey Report and some unsolicited testimonials sum up the response from attendees.

From the Survey: Close to 100% of the 102 who filled out the evaluation indicated that they would maybe or definitely be interested in attending another event on this subject.

From an adult: The Youth Expo was one of the most genuinely instructive comings together I've ever attended. It was inclusive in so many ways; and the atmosphere was so respectful it allowed for such tuned-in listening and learning. I was really inspired.

From a Youth Planner: Hillary, Sarah, Elsa, Ryan and the planning team thank you so much for this honor of making this event, and the turn out being so successful. This event for sure was worth every minute of it; I can’t wait to be a part of another city or state or national event.

One hundred and two event participants returned the exit survey that had been prepared by the evaluation team. Highlights include:

· Ninety percent of respondents rated the day's workshops and special events as excellent or good.

· One hundred percent would maybe or definitely attend another event on this subject.

· The Expo was intended to connect young people with organizations offering jobs, internships and career paths related to food, farming and active living. Seventy-nine percent of respondents deemed our achievement of this as excellent or good.

· Seventy-four percent of respondents definitely plan to take advantage of opportunities that were presented at the event.

· Eighty-six percent would maybe or definitely consider being part of a planning committee for a future event like this one.

How effectively does the group represent diverse people and thinking in the community?
The leadership of the NYC Food and Fitness Partnership takes the form of a steering committee. This structure was envisioned to suit the needs of the Partnership. As we have matured and gained a truer understanding of the work, the structure will likely change in the implementation period.

We are considering the time from June to November, as our “interim” time, and are examining what an ideal structure looks like. What we DO know, is that the community coalition weight (of votes) will be increased.
a. Race and ethnicity of the participants; In the existing Steering Committee, each of the 3 local coalitions are represented by persons of color. While many of the other members serve in organizations that are in service to communities of color, they themselves are not persons of color.

b. Grassroots, advocacy, community based organizations, institutions; and The organizations represented in the steering committee include City Harvest, Public Health Solutions, NYC DOHMH, NYC Office of the Mayor, Project for Public Spaces, Greater NY Chamber of Commerce, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Hunter College, NYC Council, Children’s Aid Society, Brooklyn Rescue Mission, Columbia University’s Healthy Monday Campaign, and Montefiore School-Based Health Program, and the Strategic Alliance for Health

c. Sectors/fields (i.e.: food systems, transportation, health, economic development, planning, physical activity) The fields mentioned above are largely represented in our current leadership, although we look forward to having a more pronounced economic development voice as well as planning. There thinking among the group is highly diverse, and we have recently begun to tap more and more into our Technical Assistance Providers to help to establish norms and culture for the group to assist in processing the diversity of thinking for optimum results. Who is committed to collaboration during implementation? Coming Soon

How will you structure your collaborative to assure continuous community engagement and ownership throughout implementation?
As mentioned above, we have begun to address the need to restructure the leadership of the Partnership (aka Steering Committee) to better reflect our intentions moving forward. We have taken initial steps by strengthening the voting power of youth and communities. We expect to have a revised structure in place and supported by the implementation.

PLEASE COME BACK TO SEE ANY CHANGES / ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN ...Thank you for visiting !