Food

1. Where can I find farmers' markets or community supporter agriculture (CSA) programs near me?
Local Harvest provides zip-code searchable listings of farmers' markets, CSAs and farm stands across the country.
2. Does USGBC’s LEED program give points to food businesses for using environmentally preferable sourcing for their food service and catering functions?
Yes. Building owners and managers can now gain credit towards LEED certification by using sustainably harvested foods certified by pre-approved organizations including USDA Certified Organic, Food Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest Certified, The Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, and the Marine Stewardship Council's Blue Eco Label, and/or by acquiring food from within a 100-mile radius for food service and catering functions at the building. To achieve this credit, 25 percent of all food and beverages must meet one or more of these sustainability criteria. Double points are awarded if the food is both certified and locally harvested.
3. There are neighborhoods near where I live without good grocery stores that offer fresh vegetables and fruit. How can we begin to get good healthy foods into these so-called ‘food deserts?’
The term food desert was coined more than a decade ago in Great Britain, where it was used to describe the phenomenon of supermarkets withdrawing from cities to build larger stores on the outskirts. In the U.S. today, according to a recent USDA study, the close of thousands of local groceries unable to compete with the megastores has meant 23.5 million Americans, or about 1 out of every 13, live in low-income communities without a grocery store within walking distance.

A growing body of scientific research makes very clear the vital role fresh food consumption and access play in our health. A 2007 national study of more than 70,000 teens found that increased availability of chain supermarkets was associated with lower rates of being overweight, and a 2008 study commissioned by the Food Trust, a Philadelphia based non-profit, showed people living in neighborhoods crowded with fast-food and convenience stores but relatively few grocery or produce outlets have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes.

For advice on how to get nutritious, affordable food into the underserved neighborhoods in your city, we suggest starting with the Food Trust, since that in fact is their mission, starting first in their own city.

Philadelphia is not exceptional in terms of the characteristics or poverty status of its residents when compared to other large urban areas, yet it has the second lowest number of supermarkets per capita of major cities in the nation. In 2001, The Food Trust released a report, The Need for More Supermarkets, which showed that poor supermarket access in Philadelphia is linked to the high incidence of diet-related diseases in many low-income neighborhoods. Following the release of the report, the Philadelphia City Council directed The Food Trust to convene a Food Marketing Task Force to produce a report recommending policy changes to improve the availability of affordable, nutritious food in Philadelphia. The Food Marketing Task Force was composed of more than 40 experts from city government, the supermarket industry, and the civic sector.

In 2004, The Food Marketing Task Force released its report, Stimulating Supermarket Development: A New Day for Philadelphia (available in PDF from the Food Trust), with 10 recommendations to increase the number of supermarkets in Philadelphia’s underserved communities. Acting on these policy recommendations, the Pennsylvania legislature created the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI), a first-of-its-kind grant and loan program to encourage supermarket development in underserved neighborhoods throughout the state. The Food Trust also published Philadelphia’s New Markets: Ripe Opportunities for Retailers (available in PDF from the Food Trust) in 2006 to promote supermarket development. Most importantly, the Fresh Food Financing Initiative has committed more that $63.3 million in funding for 68 supermarket projects in 27 Pennsylvania counties, creating or preserving 3,700 jobs.

Now in its fourth year, the FFFI has become a model for communities nationwide committed to combating obesity and improving food access. A number of states and cities are now developing FFFI-type programs with the help of the Food Trust, including New York State, New Orleans and Chicago. It is being studied by the Institute of Medicine and the National Institute of Health as a national public health model. And in 2008, Harvard University named the initiative one of the nation’s most innovative government programs.

What Are Smarter Cities? / Make Your City Smarter / Food

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