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). 

The first of a three-part series by PolicyLink and Mandela MarketPlace, this case study highlights the ongoing work of Mandela MarketPlace and its partners to build a local food system that prioritizes community ownership in the San Francisco Bay Area. This first case study provides an overview of the organization, offers a historical context of its development, and outlines critical factors that contributed to its existing infrastructure and framework of local ownership. 

View the accompanying photo essay, with original photography from Mandela MartketPlace, and read this blog post by Dana Harvey, executive director at Mandela MarketPlace.

Read the second case study, Cultivating Equitable Food-Oriented Development: Lessons from West Oakland, which explores how the Mandela ecosystem has grown and evolved, and the operations, inner workings, and relationships across its tightly woven network. View the accompanying photo essay, with original photography from Mandela MartketPlace, including a photo courtesy of Michael Short Photography.

California is home to the nation’s fifth largest Black population, and though Black students today are more likely to graduate from high school and college than they were a decade ago, persistent opportunity gaps exist in college access and success and completion outcomes are still too low.  These troubling findings are a result of funding, policy and institutional weaknesses rather than individual student dedication. The report calls for a concerted, strategic effort to produce better educational outcomes for Black students.

 This report highlights key recommendations for how communities can work together to make sure that everyone, regardless of income or race, has access to healthy food, and  discusses the unequal access to healthy foods that exists in communities of color and for low-income communities in San José.Food access is important to the health and well-being of all of our families.

Mandela MarketPlace grew out of grassroots community organizing efforts to shift resource dynamics, giving residents access to healthy food retail and neighborhood development funding. Incorporated in 2004, Mandela MarketPlace is a nonprofit organization that currently works in partnership with local farmers, local residents, and community-based businesses to build health, wealth, and assets through cooperative food enterprises.

Read this in-depth case study and accompanying photo essay for more information. 

Northgate Markets, a family-owned grocer with 34 locations in Southern California, responded to Inglewood residents’ request for better access to healthy food.  Located southwest of Los Angeles, Inglewood is a diverse community, with large African American and Latino populations.  Coming out of the Great Recession, the Inglewood community has continued to face economic hardships, with 21 percent of the population living below the poverty level, compared to 14 percent statewide. With funding from the California FreshWorks Fund (CAFWF), Northgate was able to expand and open 30,000 square feet of new grocery retail, improving food access for 105,000 nearby residents. Northgate also serves as a critical economic anchor for the area, creating 125 new jobs, most of which are held by local residents.

U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC) announced the grand opening of Northgate Gonzalez Markets in Inglewood, Calif. The $7.6 million supermarket received more than $2.5 million in new markets tax credit (NMTC) equity from USBCDC and a $4 million term loan from NCB Capital Impact and The California Endowment

There are a number of policy options available to catalyze grocery store and supermarket development in food deserts, but most require outlays of public funds. In a fiscally-constrained situations policymakers and advocates seeking funds for these programs must articulate and quantify the full range of societal benefits that grocery stores will bring. This article explores enhanced residential property values as one such benefit and uses data from Oakland, California and a hedonic price model to estimate that proximity to a grocery store adds $20,000 to $30,000 to home values. This increase in value represents increased wealth for homeowners and an expanded property tax base for governments. (Article starts on page 5).

A group of concerned students in Watsonville, CA formed Jóvenes SANOS, a program working to raise awareness about childhood obesity and implement policies that promote healthy nutrition and physical activity. This case study highlights the Watsonville Healthy Markets Pilot Program where students have successfully engaged local corner stores in marketing and promoting healthier food options. The program has contributed to substantial health improvements and decreased the County’s obesity rate.