is our role with the City of Hartford Advisory Commission on Food Policy. The Hartford Advisory Commission on Food Policy was established by City ordinance in 1991 to implement recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force on Hunger. Continuously operational since then, its purpose is to integrate all City agencies in a common effort to improve the availability of safe and nutritious food at reasonable prices for allHartford residents, particularly those in need.
to a happy, healthy, and productive life in the City;
of safe and nutritious food is available for City residents;
is not limited by economic status, location, or other factors beyond a resident’s control; and
in the City remains at a level approximating the level for the state.
As part of its advisory role to city officials, the Commission annually prepares a series of recommendations on food and nutrition issues. Recent recommendations include supporting mid-sized grocery stores, ensuring that all schools in Hartford have active gardens, and reducing food waste.
In February 2017, Community Solutions, Inc. engaged Wholesome Wave, a Connecticut-based, national non-profit experienced in programs, policy and research focused on food access, affordability, and government food assistance, and Hartford Food System, a Hartford-based nonprofit with expertise in culturally responsive urban food access programming and convening, to develop a tactical implementation plan to address the challenges of food access and affordability in the North End of Hartford. Support for this project was provided by Well Being 360, a national effort of Trinity Health,and Rx Foundation. This report is the culmination of the process, including opportunities that, when coupled with the correct partnerships, funding, and leveraged resources, could significantly help residents optimize government food assistance and incentive programs, increase food security, and decrease food-related diseases in Hartford’s North End. These opportunities are also scalable to the rest of the city of Hartford and beyond.
Hartford Food System was founded in 1978. Since then, we have been dedicated to finding long-term solutions for access to affordable and healthy food in our home city of Hartford.