A cheery, well lit, Save-A-Lot grocery store — featuring fresh produce, lowcost cereals and meat packaging on site — opened this month on Waukegan's southwest side, an area officials called a "food desert" for underserved residents.The store employs 35 local residents and plans to hire two assistant store managers soon, said Save-A-Lot district manager Thomas Hill, after a dozen officials toured the 10,000squarefoot facility Saturday morning.

A robust case management system is critical to tracking progress and success while executing a cradle-to-career continuum of services and supports. Authored by the Urban Institute, this report provides guidance on how to review and utilize case management data to accelerate the achievement of Promise Neighborhoods results.

Building on existing community food system efforts and public interest in local foods, the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota has successfully developed a broad range of food systems related policies. The municipal government and its strong non-governmental partners take a full systems approach, addressing food system areas ranging from urban agriculture to local food business, community kitchens, public markets, food retail and access, and neighborhood connections.

The City of Cleveland municipal government began advancing food policy in 1976 with support for urban agriculture, namely community gardening, which has remained the city’s key area of focus. In 2008 other food systems issues, beyond urban agriculture, began receiving unprecedented municipal government support. For example, the municipal government began linking food production policies with strong food access goals. 

Through a review of healthy food retailer program reports and interviews
 with program staff and experts in the field, ChangeLab Solutions has assembled a list of viable sales data tracking methods. We have assessed each method using four criteria – accuracy, cost, burden on program staff, and burden on store staff – to show each method’s strengths and weaknesses. This easy-to-use resource can help healthy retail advocates and retailers pick the best sales tracking methods for their program. 

Supermarkets are a primary source of food for American households, and increased presence in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods present opportunities to increase access to healthy foods. It is important to assess store manager and customer reactions to in-store marketing interventions. This study aimed to evaluate manager and customer reactions to stealth, low-cost, sustainable in-store marketing strategies to promote healthier purchases in five product categories and gain insight into shopping habits and willingness to change behaviors.

This case study profiles the Healthy Corner Store Program (HCP) developed as part of The Health Trust’s Good. To Go. (G2G) campaign, a community-based campaign aimed at increasing the purchase of produce and quality foods through a network of on-the-ground, trusted community vendors, including corner store retailers, Fresh Cart mobile produce vendors, farmers’ market managers, and urban farmers. The case study documented key efforts working with corner store retailers in San Jose over the course of two years (2013-15). 

In October 2015, more than 40 public health leaders and national experts in food retail, agriculture, distribution and marketing convened in Philadelphia for Healthy Food in Small Stores: Distribution Opportunities to Improve Community Health. This national conference tackled challenges and best practices for distributing healthy food to small stores across the United States. Co-hosted by The Food Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this meeting sought to build connections among experts and identify ways to overcome distribution challenges in ways that are profitable for businesses and provide better access to healthy food in stores. This report outlines the key findings, discussion themes, and other highlights from the conference.