SEFA: Southeast Food Access Working Group

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SEFA Southeast Food Access Working Group

• Network for a Healthy California
• January 23, 2008

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The Mayors Challenge Shape Up SF

• Launched in April 2006
• Shaping up the physical activity and nutrition
  environments
• Making it easy to make the healthy choice by
  focusing on
• Policy
• Data
• Education/Awareness
• Programs

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• Food Insecurity in the U.S.
• 1/6 are food insecure in US
• Low Income people and people of color are more
  likely to suffer from food insecurity (hunger and
  obesity).
• Food insecurity affects 35 of low income
  households in the US
• African American and Latino households face food
  insecurity and hunger rates three times as high
  as those of white households. (USDA)

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Food Deserts
The causes of food insecurity include
supermarket flight from inner cities,
transportation barriers, inundating inner cities
with fast food chains and food that is high in
salt, sugar, and fat.
Food
insecurity contributes to growing rates of
diabetes and obesity health concerns that rank
high in inner city communities like
Bayview.  Bolen, E. and Hecht, K. (2003,
January). Neighborhood Groceries New Access to
Healthy Food in Low Income Communities.
California Food Policy Advocates. 
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Background

• Shape Up SF Summit in April 2006 breakout group
  on food access
• Follow up ongoing communication
• Reconvened group in January 2007
• Response to community request

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SEFA MembersCo chairs SEHC director WPM
general manager

• Community Based Partners
•  
• BVHP Farmers Market
• BVHP Foundation
• CPMC Bayview Child Health Center
• Hunters Point Family
• Literacy for Environmental Justice
• Network for Elders
• Quesada Gardens Initiative
• Reachout for the Rainbow AfterSchool
• SF Food Bank
• SF Wholesale Produce Market
• San Francisco Food Systems

CCSF Partners   Department of the
Environment Department of Public
Health Department of Public Works Mayors Office
of Community Development Mayors Office of
Economic and Workforce Development San Francisco
Redevelopment Agency
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SEFA Goal

• The goal of SEFA is to work collaboratively
  across city and community agencies to ensure that
  healthy, fresh, sustainable, and affordable
  produce is accessible to all residents of the
  BVHP, utilizing existing venues and supporting
  transformation and/or creation of new ones.

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SEFA Activities

• SEFA has identified several areas in which to
  work.
• Looking at spectrum of issues across the food
  system including
• Nutrition education/Awareness Raising
• Working with food pantries
• Full service market(s)

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Full Service Market

• Engaged key city agencies
• MOEWD, SFRA, MOCD, DPH
• Identified need for survey to understand desires
  and needs of community
• Over protest of district supervisor
• In Summer 2007, developed and implemented survey.

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Survey Process

• Promoted as CBO/resident led
• Administered to nearly 600 residents in BVHP and
  Visitacion Valley in
• English, Spanish and Chinese
• Surveys administered online and at
• grocery stores,
• food pantries,
• community agencies,
• housing developments,
• door to door.

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SEFA Survey Results
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SEFA Survey Results

• Respondents care about values associated with
  workers rights and organic foods.
• 58 want a co-op market
• 53 most important that foods be free of
  pesticides and chemicals and be grown by local
  farmers who treat farm workers fairly.
• Most residents buy their food outside of the
  neighborhood (grocery sales leakage reached 38
  million)
• Lack of quality/freshness of food and safe
  pleasant shopping atmosphere were cited as
  reasons why residents dont shop at existing
  stores.
• While 55 preferred a large grocery store, 45
  preferred a couple of smaller stores in different
  locations.

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Full Service Market

• Mayors Office of Economic Workforce
  Development participation in SEFA meetings
• SEFA sounding board to MOWED
• Recommended Tesco
• Visited/contacted independent stores
• Advocated to potential stores

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Success!?!

• TESCO interest
• Company values
• Alcohol moratorium
• In December 2007, Fresh and Easy broke ground for
  a full service market in BVHP to open mid 2009
• Progress but not a
• complete solution

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Future SEFA Work

• Nutrition Education/Awareness Raising
  (collaborate with culinary institutes to train
  community cooks, cooking demos, cook books etc)
• Work with existing/new grocery stores
• Share Survey findings FoodsCo, Supersave
• Market Watch
• Continue collaboration with SEFA member projects
• Leadership by community

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Lessons Learned

• LISTEN to community
• Formed SEFA
• Survey
• Alcohol Moratorium
• ACT with community
• Provide TA/Leadership
• SHARE
• Work
• Survey, staffing
• Success/failures

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SEFA Survey Results
www.shapeupsf.org