Leveraging policy to increase healthy food choices in small stores

Due to a lack of full-service grocery stores in their neighborhoods, many low-income families rely heavily on small corner stores for their food shopping. Over the past decade, a growing number of advocates have initiated partnerships with corner store owners in low-income communities to improve the availability and marketing of healthy, affordable foods. This presentation analyzes the efforts of one such network to bring together more than 300 advocates, business owners, and academics, working together to develop viable business models for small-scale healthy food retail. Further, this presentation will describe the pioneering efforts of the network to alter the food retail landscape in low-income neighborhoods; describe the challenges facing projects trying to survive past initial grant funding; and explore local, state, and federal policies and incentives that can strengthen the viability of the corner store intervention model.