Rochester, New York

Rochester, NY Common Ground Health








Population
: 206,284
Project focus: Access to foods that support healthy eating patterns

Goals:

  • Increase stakeholder and community engagement
  • Increase public awareness
  • Establish a food policy council advance policies 

Approaches and Partners
Common Ground Health worked with the City of Rochester and Foodlink to generate community support, research best practices and consult with local leaders and experts to create a food policy council in support of the city’s comprehensive plan, Rochester 2034. The project team recruited multiple resident leaders to serve on their planning committee, which selected community members who represented the diversity of Rochester to serve as inaugural members on the council. Together with one member from each of the three lead organizations, these individuals make up the 13-member Rochester Food Policy Council.

Successes (as of September 2022) 
A key success was the adoption of legislation by Rochester City Council to formalize the FPC. The FPC has built relationships with elected and governmental officials and written letters of support for key legislation, which will expand access to and quality of school meals, among other food access priorities. The city’s Office of Neighborhood and Business Development even invited the FPC to advise on a new healthy food retail project. Thanks to a grant from the NYHealth Foundation, the FPC has funding to continue through fall 2023. 

Snapshot 1 (July - December 2020) | Snapshot 2 (January - June 2021) | Snapshot 3 (July - December 2021)

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