local food

HCSN Issue Brief. The Supplier-Retailer Gap: Connecting Corner Stores with Local Foods

December 5, 2011 in Featured Articles, Reports

Winter, 2012.

Has your program struggled with sourcing fresh, local foods for corner stores? The Supplier-Retailer Gap: Connecting Corner Stores with Local Foods explores this issue in detail,  highlighting two different program approaches from opposite sides of the country: New York (GrowNYC) and Oregon (LCHAY). This Issue Brief, written by The Food Trust for the HCSN, outlines keys to success and lists resources for further exploration of the topic.

Local Harvest

November 14, 2011 in Tools

This website maintains a national directory of small farms and CSAs that corner store organizers can use to find sources for local produce. The database is searchable by zip code, city, and state. Results include contact information, crops produced, and reviews.

Fresh, organic foods arrive at corner stores to mixed reviews

September 26, 2011 in News

Neighborhood News Service Milwaukee, September 26, 2011. Lindsay Heights Health Alliance is coordinating Milwaukee’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative, which helps the two participating corner stores obtain and sell produce from a local community garden. Food will be harvested and distributed until the end of October. The two stores have seen different results. A committee member speculates that the mixed results are due to merchandising and incentives. The store that has had difficulty selling produce has the vegetables located in a cooler at the back of the store. The more successful store prominently displays the local produce in the front of the store and accepts EBT cards. High school students played a large role in the development and implementation of the project. The organizers hope to expand the program to a third store next year and to make the program round rather than seasonal.

Dari Mart welcomes mobile produce stand to parking lot

July 11, 2011 in News

The Register-Guard, July 11, 2011. Eugene, Oregon’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative is taking a slightly different approach to bringing healthy foods to convenience stores. This summer they have arranged for a local farmer to set up mobile produce stands in the parking lots of the Dari Mart convenience store chain. Eighty customers stopped and purchased fresh produce out of the farmer’s flatbed truck on the first opening day.

Healthy Corner Store Will Open in May at New Columbia in North Portland

May 2, 2011 in News

 

The Oregonian, May 2, 2011. This article describes a healthy corner store project in Portland, Oregon. A non-profit, community-run corner store will sell fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, and spices at the New Columbia housing development. Previously, neighborhood residents had to travel over a mile to the closest food store. The store is a project between Village Gardens, Janus Youth Programs, and the Housing Authority of Portland. A great deal of the produce will be local, with some supplied by a nearby youth-run farm.

New store will feature healthy, affordable food

April 20, 2011 in News

WJRT, April 20, 2011. This video features an interview with an entrepreneur about her plans for The Healthy Dollar Store in Flint, Michigan. The Healthy Dollar will be modeled after stores where everything is sold for a dollar, but it will also sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Part of the funding for the store is coming from the nonprofit Extension Health, which might offer up to four more years of funding. The store will be partnering with Edible Flint and sell as much local produce as possible. The storeowner wants to encourage healthier eating while keeping fresh food affordable.

Foodies look to new west side market

April 19, 2011 in News

The Brown Daily Herald, April 19, 2011. The sustainable agriculture advocacy group Fertile Underground is opening a “vanguard corner store” in Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2009 Fertile Underground has created vegetable gardens on neglected land around the city. The store will focus on selling local produce, most grown within thirty miles of the store as well as provide customers tips on how to eat healthy on a budget. West Broadway Neighborhood Association owns the building the store will be located in and had been looking for a group to open a neighborhood grocery store in that space for some time. To fund the project, Fertile Underground is seeking small loans from community members.

On the Road: Mandela MarketPlace, Oakland, California

March 23, 2011 in News

By Siena Chrisman, March 23, 2011. This article describes the Mandela MarketPlace Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance, an innovative produce distribution system that delivers to corner stores in West Oakland, California. Young people are in charge of organizing the program. It’s estimated that in the first year, the two participating corner stores sold about 150,000 pounds of produce as well as supported local farmers who grew 40% of the produce. See a video about the project here.

Fresno Market to Get Healthy Upgrade

May 7, 2010 in News

The Business Journal, May 7, 2010. This article describes a planned collaboration between Fresno high school students, a corner store owner, a local farmer and nonprofits to convert a traditional corner store into a “community friendly market selling local produce.” Ads promoting healthy choices will replace ads for alcohol and tobacco. The store has plans to display produce in a prominent location in the front of the store.

A New Kind of Corner Store Makeover

January 23, 2010 in News

January 23, 2010, GOOD blog.This blog post describes a project led by design students in San Francisco to bring fresh produce to a corner store in the Western Addition neighborhood. The students worked with one store owner to designate the store as a pick-up site for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Neighbors signed up for a share of fresh produce and picked it up at the store. This process was easy for the owner, who hopes that offering the service will generate more business for his store.