Bodega and Small Business Initiative

Bronx Health REACH continues to believe that the Healthy Bodega initiative it launched more than 20 years ago is still an important means of making healthy food available and affordable for our Bronx community. To that end, Bronx Health REACH and its long time partner the Bodega and Small Business Group, collaborated with NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business on a Healthy Corner Store Pilot in Hunts Point, Bronx. This project leverages the collective buying power of local bodegas to purchase and sell healthy grab-and-go foods at affordable prices. The group conducted taste tests of food from Collective Fare (a catering company and food justice advocate), at a back-to-school fair with the Hunts Point Alliance for Children hosted a focus group at THE POINT; and surveyed Hunts Point bodega owners about participating in the pilot. Funding for the pilot has been secured from the New York Health Foundation.