Communities for Healthy Food: The Toolkit - A Practical Guide for Integrating Healthy Food Access and Social Justice into Community Development

Sep 27, 2026

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A practical planning and implementation guide that integrates healthy food access and social-justice principles into community development. The toolkit draws on Communities for Healthy Food (CfHF) experience developed by LISC NYC with Community Development Corporation partners to address interconnected challenges of diet-related disease, poverty, and hunger in economically challenged New York City neighborhoods. It outlines project readiness, intermediary roles, staffing, planning processes, intervention types, partnerships, fundraising, and evaluation methods to build an equitable local food system with economic opportunities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages88

Reading Time3 h 42 min

AccessFree to download

Letter from LISC NYC

About the Toolkit

Framing the Issue

About Communities for Healthy Food

The Toolkit

Project Readiness

Role of the Intermediary

Staffing a CfHF Initiative

Planning Process

Putting Together the Plan

Best Practices for Developing a Communities for Healthy Food Plan

Types of Interventions

Healthy Food Access

Knowledge and Skill-Building

Healthy Food as a Tool for Economic Development

Support Services

Outreach and Mobilization

Advocacy and Community Development Leadership

Implementation

Partnerships

Fundraising

Evaluation

Key Lessons Learned and Challenges

Appendix

Partner Snapshot

Evaluation Comparisons

COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FOOD: THE TOOLKIT A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR INTEGRATING HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE INTO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT KEY PARTNERS [lmtilluminationfund.org](lmtilluminationfund.org) [cunyurbanfoodpolicy.org](cunyurbanfoodpolicy.org) COMMUNITY PARTNERS Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association Hunts Point/Longwood, Bronx [bkcianyc.org](bkcianyc.org) Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation Cypress Hills and East New York, Brooklyn [bkcianyc.org](bkcianyc.org) New Settlement Apartments Mt. Eden, Bronx [newsettlement.org](newsettlement.org) Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn [nebhdco.org/community-programs](nebhdco.org/community-programs) West Harlem Group Assistance West Harlem, Manhattan [whgainc.org](whgainc.org) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This toolkit was made possible with funding from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. LISC NYC gratefully acknowledges the contributions of our CDC partners, toolkit designer HOUSEOFCAKES and publication authors Christina Grace and Colleen Flynn. PHOTOS: Reeve Jolliffe at Gas Tower Studio and Ricky Flores TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM LISC NYC .............................................3 ABOUT THE TOOLKIT .............................................. 5 FRAMING THE ISSUE ............................................... 6 ABOUT COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FOOD .......................8 Background ........................................................ 10 What is Communities for Healthy Food..................................11 Summary of Impact.................................................. 15 THE TOOLKIT ....................................................... 16 Project Readiness ................................................... 19 Role of the Intermediary ............................................. 21 Staffing a CfHF Initiative ............................................. 25 Planning Process .................................................... 27 Putting Together the Plan ............................................ 31 Best Practices for Developing a Communities for Healthy Food Plan........34 TYPES OF INTERVENTIONS ........................................37 Healthy Food Access ................................................38 Knowledge and Skill-Building.......................................... 41 Healthy Food as a Tool for Economic Development.......................42 Support Services ....................................................45 Outreach and Mobilization............................................49 Advocacy and Community Development Leadership...................... 53 IMPLEMENTATION .................................................57 Partnerships ........................................................58 FUNDRAISING .................................................... 60 EVALUATION ...................................................... 62 Identifying Values and Beliefs and Defining Goals ........................ 63 Logic Model ........................................................64 Evaluation Framework................................................64 Evaluation Questions ................................................ 65 Key Evaluation Findings .............................................. 67 Evaluation Recommendations based on the CfHF Experience.............. 71 KEY LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES .......................72 APPENDIX .........................................................75 Partner Snapshot.................................................... 77 Evaluation Comparisons ............................................. 78 Overview and Summary of Evaluation Methods ......................... 80 ABOUT THE PARTNERS ............................................ 82 COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FOOD TOOLKIT 1 March 14, 2018 Dear Partner, I am excited to share with yo

FAQs

What problem does the Communities for Healthy Food toolkit address?

It responds to interconnected issues including diet-related disease, poverty, and hunger affecting low-income households, especially where access to nearby healthy and affordable food is limited.

Which organizations and partners are involved in CfHF?

CfHF is a place-based effort led by LISC NYC with Community Development Corporation partners, plus collaborators from CDC, nonprofit, academic, and public sector partners supported by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

What major steps does the toolkit cover for implementing healthy food access initiatives?

It covers readiness and roles (including the intermediary), staffing and planning, developing a portfolio of programs, implementation through partnerships and fundraising, and evaluation using an established framework and questions.

Sep 27, 2026

Upload by Noah