National Health Foundation (NHF) and partners know firsthand that to improve the health of individuals and
underserved communities the work cannot be done alone. Collaboration is
necessary, and forming multi-sectoral partnerships to align resources, leverage
partnerships, and synergize upstream prevention efforts - is key to building a healthier community.
Under the BUILD Health LA
initiative, NHF and partners have come together to address the health disparities and inequities faced by the South
Central LA community. Together, BUILD partners envision Historic South Los Angeles as a community that defies the odds
and becomes an oasis of fresh, healthy foods and inviting urban space. The
BUILD initiative attempts to build on past efforts to create an inviting
community where youth, families and adults can access healthy food, be
physically active outside, and are supported in maintaining a healthy lifestyle
that results in decreasing the prevalence of obesity and subsequently diabetes
and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, this partnership believes in the
ambition and potential of the youth in this community. Central to this work, is
the commitment and emphasis on youth involvement, empowering youth to take
action towards improving social, environmental, and economic conditions in
their neighborhood to impact community health.
At present, a new forged
partnership with COmmunity Markets Purchasing Real and Affordable Foods (COMPRA
Foods) has caused great excitement to the BUILD efforts. COMPRA Foods is a
purchasing cooperative and produce distribution program designed to meet the
needs of small grocers in low-income neighborhoods. COMPRA Foods was developed, and is lead, by
Leadership for Urban Renewal Network (LURN), the Los Angeles Food Policy
Council (LAFPC), and the Asian Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance
(APIOPA). The COMPRA Foods team will provide leadership to the BUILD
initiative in engaging small markets to offer fresh, healthy food options.
Through BUILD, the project team
is moving South LA toward supporting healthier lifestyles. In
addition, by training and
supporting youth Community Health Liaisons to drive much of this change, the
project creates a cadre of local leaders who will understand potential for upstream
improvements and have the skills to influence them.
Together, NHF and
partners are TAKING ACTION to decrease the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and
cardiovascular disease in Historic South Central LA by creating new solutions
to community health!
 |
| A COMPRA Foods van filled with healthy produce |
Recently, NHF met up with Rudy Espinoza, LURN Founder and Executive Director,
and his team at LURN Headquarters. Here’s what they had to say about the new
partnership and how LURN’s work through COMPRA Foods, connects with the BUILD
Health LA initiative.
What is it about the BUILD community action plan that is in line with
LURN’s mission?
Alike the BUILD Health LA
initiative, LURN is dedicated to binging people together to design, build, and
promote sustainable communities that allow everyone to live to their greatest
potential. For example, through the COMPRA Foods program, LURN is invested in finding
creative opportunities to bring more fresh produce and healthier food options
into underserved communities like South LA to build a healthier community, and a
healthier Los Angeles overall.
What are the goals for COMPRA?
With little to no access to major
grocery stores in neighborhoods like Historic South Central Los Angeles, COMPRA
Foods aims to amplify the capacity of small convenience stores to carry
affordable and healthy produce. Currently, COMPRA is a grant funded initiative, supported by funders
such as USDA, the Department of Public Health, the Ahmanson Foundation, and the
Kresge Foundation. “We have a vision that COMPRA can become the next stand-alone
social enterprise, much like Amazon fresh, for local grocers and small convenience
stores.” This would mean more access to fresh, quality, fruits and vegetables at
a low-price for store owners, and residents alike, who frequent and shop at
these local stores.
What has the community response to COMPRA been?”
Once in the COMPRA Foods program,
small convenience store owners often see the value and cost savings of entering
the cooperative. This is due by enlarge to the fact that small
food retailers source their food products from "big-box" grocers,
paying full price for these products and then marking them up for sale in their
own establishments. This often occurs because entrepreneurs lack relationships
with distributors who can deliver produce to their businesses at wholesale
prices. Small and mid-size farmers who may be interested in selling their
produce directly to these establishments also lack the relationships and
efficient distribution systems that can connect them to the hundreds of stores
in low-income, "food deserts”. This service gap between growers,
distribution companies, and small food retailers impacts low-income consumers
tremendously. Because there are few major grocery stores in some low-income
communities, families are required to buy food at elevated costs found at small
grocers who themselves lack low-cost alternatives to sourcing the produce they
offer. In contrast, by entering the COMPRA Foods program, small market owners
find support and are connected with small to large wholesale food distributors
that provide them with the accessibility and affordability to sell fresh,
healthy produce in their stores at a low-price to residents.
What does BUILD bring to LURN?
Through the BUILD Heath LA initiative, one part-time staff member will
be hired to manage and expand the COMPRA Foods program to include 16 small
markets within Historic South Central LA. Specifically, as a main focus in the
first year, youth Community Health Liaisons and the project partners will
conduct assessments of 22 local markets (out of the community’s 224 markets) to
determine their viability and interest in participating in a food purchasing
collaborative with expectations that a minimum of 16 will enter into the
collaborative by the end of the first year. After three months of training, the
anticipated goal is that each participating store will increase their healthy
food options as measured by a cooperative order tracking system.
This
supports LURN’s three-year program outcomes for COMPRA, which include: (1) engaging
60 small grocers and convenience stores in the Los Angeles Promise Zone area;
(2) equipping 30 small stores to purchase produce and healthy snacks; (3) broker
partnerships with 3 local farmers, produce wholesalers, and healthy snack
purveyors; and (4) deliver food weekly to more than 30 small grocers and
provide marketing and product placement assistance. This with an overall
arching goal of reaching 30,000 residents and encouraging them to purchase
health
