Model and Strategy
Building Family, Dignity and Community (BFDC) builds sustainable supports for community food access in Oakland neighborhoods that experience public disinvestment, particularly in food system and nutrition infrastructure. BFDC mobilizes an existing robust community organization network to direct focus on families who routinely must make the difficult choice between good health and basic household needs. Building upon a decade-long partnership between Mandela MarketPlace and West Oakland Health Council, BFDC enhances a health and wellness center housed within Mandela Grocery Cooperative with WIC programming and cooking classes, to build healthy eating skills and create a community of support for parents/caregivers. In addition, WIC purchase incentives will be built into Mandela's existing Fresh Creds incentive program. The children in these families will benefit from the long-lasting health practices their parents learn and are supported – via nurturing relationships with other adults and support providers in their own neighborhoods – to maintain.
Impact
Neighborhood by neighborhood, Mandela fosters community development that engages residents, creates wealth, and improves health. With equal access to opportunity and investment, every community can thrive, and create lasting change that sustains and elevates community power.
56% of deaths nationally – from heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes – are now directly related to poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight (CDC). Inadequate diets are at the root of chronic, life-threatening illnesses, and the effects become more dramatic as a family’s income decreases. Marginalized and low-income communities in the US experience inequities in healthy food access, stable employment, and health. While strategies to support local food systems have increased over the past decade, these strategies have primarily benefited middle to high income areas.
In contrast, Mandela intentionally engages marginalized communities to improve access to healthy, local foods and create more equitable communities by increasing employment, providing health education, enhancing the built environment, and integrating with health care. Mandela knows that without the right support network and easy access to health-promoting resources, healthy habits become increasingly difficult to maintain for families in the middle of gentrification and rapid development for wealthy newcomers. Creating support for families that allows them to remain and keep connections in their long-time neighborhoods will have long-lasting impacts on future generations’ ability to maintain health.
Leadership
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Dana Harvey
Executive Director
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Trisha Chakrabarti
Program & Policy Manager