Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH Receives $35,000 Grant from Newman’s Own Foundation to Support the Healthy Bodega Initiative

New York, NY (October 23, 2015)—Bronx Health REACH, a community coalition led by the Institute for Family Health received a $35,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation to support it’s Healthy Bodega Initiative. In partnership with the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) and The Bodega Association of the United States (ASOBEU), this funding will provide additional support for the Healthy Bodega Initiative to increase the supply of healthy food in New York City’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Bronx Health REACH Director Charmaine Ruddock remarked, “Support for the Healthy Bodega Initiative from Newman’s Own Foundation means that we will be able to build on the successful launch of the Bodega Training Program and increase the number of bodega owners participating in future trainings.” To date more than 20 Bronx bodegas participated in a two-day, in-depth Healthy Bodega training program held in August that focused on business strategies, food handling, the regulatory environment, and marketing/promotion practices to increase supply and demand for healthier food and beverages in their stores.

In addition to the funding from Newman’s Own Foundation, the work is also funded by a three year REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH is a founding member of ‘Not62 – The Campaign for a Healthy Bronx’, a new initiative, responding to the Bronx being ranked 62 out of the 62 counties in New York State by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Ranking Report since 2009. The Healthy Bodega Initiative is part of this effort to improve the health of all Bronxites.