At A Glance
Boston REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health): Partners in Health and Housing (PHH) improved access to healthy, affordable foods for 5,120 public housing residents by arranging more frequent visits from a mobile grocery. From January through September 2016, Boston REACH: PHH worked with South End Community Health Center (SECHC) and Fresh Truck to increase the number of visits by the grocery-on-wheels. As a result, the number of healthy Fresh Truck food purchases at SECHC increased nearly 500%.
Public Health Challenge
Poverty, food security, and obesity are related. A higher percentage of Boston Housing Authority (BHA) adult residents (34%) and assisted renter (AR) residents (35%) have obesity compared with homeowners (21%), according to the Health of Boston 2016-2017 report. Higher percentages of BHA residents also report high blood pressure and diabetes compared to homeowners. A higher percentage of BHA and AR residents report low fruit and vegetable consumption compared to homeowners. Fruit and vegetable consumption is key to overall healthy eating, which can reduce the risk of overweight and obesity. According to the Boston Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, for 2010, 2013 and 2015 combined, 25% of BHA residents and 32% of AR residents reported at least sometimes being hungry but not eating because they could not afford enough food—compared with 3% of homeowners.
Approach
Better access to healthy, affordable food is an important tool in obesity prevention and improving the overall health of communities. Boston REACH worked with SECHC and a nonprofit food vendor, Fresh Truck, to provide better access to healthy, affordable food for 5,120 public housing residents who live nearby. Fresh Truck is a renovated school bus that carries a wide selection of fresh, healthy, and affordable food to underserved areas to help people improve their diet and health. With Boston REACH’s support, SECHC increased the frequency of “Fresh Truck” visits from once a month to twice a week and extended each visit from 2 hours to 3 to 4 hours.