SAVANNAH, Ga. - CuisineWire -- (SAVANNAH, GA) The Savannah Chatham Food Policy Council has been developing its focus and growing its numbers since Healthy Savannah started reenergizing the group in 2022 alongside community members, food experts, key stakeholders, growers and others focused on improving the food system in Chatham County. In 2022 and 2023, the Council hosted several listening sessions across the city and county to receive community input and met with the Chatham County Commission to share the purpose and vision for the SCFPC, which aims to develop policies to improve healthy food access and equity.

"The goal of the Savannah Chatham Food Policy Council is to work alongside community members and experts in the field to improve the food landscape in Chatham County," said Ruby Castro, Healthy Savannah's Nutrition Program manager. "Our aim is to improve food access and reduce nutrition insecurity."

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The Council has identified these three priorities to put into action starting in 2025 and has already begun developing a plan that prioritizes areas of greatest need.

• Growing /making/distributing food
• Food retail/food business
• Emergency food/institutions/food service

While SCFPC is expected to pursue all three areas over the next several years, it has prioritized the development of policy, systems, and environmental change opportunities for community gardening as its first project.

The Savannah Chatham Food Policy Council is supported by the five-year, $5.1 million (REACH) grant, administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. The REACH grant's focus is to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases. It is estimated that 35,000 Savannahians live more than a mile from a grocery store. In Chatham County, 17.6% of all residents are food insecure and 21.8% of children are food insecure.

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ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a second grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) to Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. $5.1 million in funding is being deployed over a five-year period to be utilized in an "upstream" approach to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases.

For more information, visit http://www.healthysavannah.org or htttp://www.ymcaofcoastalga.org.