New Tools to Improve Access to Healthy Foods

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Community leaders, here are two new tools to help improve access to healthy foods:

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Can government agencies prioritize locally grown products when they’re buying food for places like schools, hospitals, jails, and other public facilities? It depends on state and local laws, funding restrictions, and other considerations.

The Buy Fresh, Buy Local report looks at when and how agencies can give preference to locally grown food when they’re using tax dollars to purchase goods.

Growing Change

Debate is heating up on Capitol Hill over the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal this fall. This piece of federal legislation helps determine the types of food we eat and how much it costs — and local community leaders can play an important role in making sure it promotes health and nutrition.

The Growing Change: A Farm Bill Primer for Communities report outlines why the Farm Bill is so important to nutrition, food systems, and the food safety net in cities and towns throughout the country. This guide points local stakeholders to a variety of ways to get involved — before and after Congress passes the new law.

For more info, contact the team behind these new tools, Public Health Law & Policy, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to educate, inform, and assist local and state public health departments on policy strategies addressing nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco control.