Black History Month: Creating Healthy Food Environments in the Bronx

 

Shen’naque Sean Butler and Francisco Marte, Founder of Bodega and Small Business Group

This article was written by Kelly Moltzen, Program Manager at Bronx Health REACH, Charmaine Ruddock, Project Director at Bronx Health REACH, and Bronx Health REACH Coalition member Shen’naque Sean Butler.

 

African Americans have faced injustices in the food system ever since the days of enslavement, when Africans brought to America lost the food sovereignty they had in their native lands, and as slaves, were forced to subsist on meager food rations of poor dietary quality such as pig intestines, lard and cornmeal. But resistance to these injustices has existed for just as long, with enslaved people cultivating crops from Africa such as okra, yams, black-eyed peas, and creating dishes using ingredients that were native to Africa when they could.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s founding of the Freedom Farm Cooperative in 1967 as a rural economic development and political organizing project was a later action in the Black food justice movement. The Freedom Farm Cooperative sought to uplift Black families through food provisions, such as vegetable gardens and pig-raising, and through community support for housing development and education. By providing food and financial services, the Cooperative allowed Black families to be self-sufficient. This Cooperative is seen by many as a foundation for the modern food security and food justice movements.

In the Bronx, a leader that continued this fight for food justice is Karen Washington, a Black urban farmer, and co-founder of the Black Farmer Fund. A James Beard 2014 Leadership Award Honoree, she worked to dismantle what she so aptly termed “food apartheid” in Black communities.

Recognizing the historical injustices and the power of grassroots community advocacy to address those injustices, Bronx Health REACH, since its inception, has been working with community partners to advance food justice. This has been done through efforts such as encouraging policy makers and elected officials to increase access to affordable fresh produce at farmers markets, promoting farmers and farmers markets to community members, and supporting faith-based organizations’ establishment of gardens.

For more than a decade, Bronx Health REACH has been involved in supporting local business owners selling healthy food, collaborating with the Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG) to train bodega owners to sell healthier food, and promoting those healthier options through the creation of the “Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh” consumer campaign. In 2019, Bronx Health REACH supported Bronx community member and food justice advocate Shen’naque Sean Butler to implement his vision for a healthy bodega initiative.

Shen’naque Sean Butler’s family migrated from Savannah, Georgia, to New York during the Great Migration, seeking economic opportunities and escaping racial violence. Unfortunately, the racial injustices they sought to escape followed them in one form or the other, one of which was redlining—a government policy that systematically removed resources from Black communities. Redlining has had a lasting impact, contributing to the creation of food deserts in areas like the Bronx, where access to fresh and affordable food is severely limited.

 

As a descendant of American chattel slavery, Shen’naque Sean Butler carries not only the legacy of pain but also the resilience of his ancestors. In 2019, inspired by his late mother, Jocelyn Butler, Shen’naque founded FRESCH (Food Revolution Empowering Sustainable Community Health), to address food insecurity and promote healthier eating habits in the Bronx by connecting local food systems. He implemented a pilot group purchasing model where healthy grab-and-go food items were sold at bodegas for customers to purchase at affordable prices. This initiative included bodegas both within and outside the BSBG network.

The initiative delivers plant-based meals to local bodegas, providing nutritious options in areas where fresh food is scarce. FRESCH also hosts workshops and seminars to educate the community about healthy eating and advocates for policy changes to improve food transparency and marketing practices.

In 2024, building on FRESCH and the previous work with BSBG, Bronx Health REACH received funding from the New York Health Foundation to collaborate with BSBG, Collective Fare, Shen’naque Sean Butler, and others to pilot a sustainable business model for bodegas to sell healthy, culturally relevant grab-and-go items, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx.

The effort to establish a healthy food retail environment with culturally relevant, affordable options for communities of color has continued, gaining momentum to counter the injustices that have gotten worse in the food system over the past several decades. Dr. Marcia Chatelain, a professor of African American history and author of the book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America explains an association between the food retail environment and being “Black.” Dr. Chatelain points out that in the 1960’s, the federal government, through a series of efforts, encouraged the creation of Black businesses as an opportunity to build wealth and create badly needed jobs.  During this time, the fast food industry lobbied government and convinced civil rights organizations that fast food franchising could be good for building Black wealth. Yet, the low-wage jobs created through the franchising model, coupled with the creation of unhealthy food environments in Black communities, turned out to have detrimental economic and health consequences in these communities. Exacerbating the problem was the practice of many food companies associating Black culture with their industrialized food through targeted predatory marketing of fast food and other unhealthy food products. This has had disastrous effects on the health of consumers, with disproportionate impacts especially seen in Black communities.

Despite all of this, the movement that has long embraced the narrative of cultural pride focused on an entrepreneurial model of building Black owned food businesses promoting healthy food, establishing a new cadre of Black farmers, and farmers markets, and securing new retail outlets for those foods continues. The goal of such a movement is still to improve the health and lives of Black communities.

Bronx Residents Get Boogie’ing at 6th Annual Boogie on the Boulevard

This post was written by Rachel Ingram, Nutrition and Physical Activity Program Manager at Bronx Health REACH.

On Sunday, September 15th from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the middle lanes of the Grand Concourse from 162nd to 170th Street were closed to cars and open to a world of fun and free music, dance, fitness, art, fresh food samplings and more! Boogie on the Boulevard “Boogie,” a NYC Department of Transportation Weekend Walks program, is a one-of-a-kind community event that reimagines the streets as a public space where the many diverse cultures represented in the Bronx can be active and celebrate.

This year at Boogie, nearly 5,000 Bronx residents enjoyed a one-mile stretch of interactive healthy living activities based on themes such as Arts, #Not 62, Fresh and Healthy Eating, Back to School, Fitness and Wellness, Dance, Active Transportation, Baby Oasis, and Street Games. “Every year we get together as community residents, local community-based organizations, healthcare partners, transportation advocates, and we celebrate who we are as the Bronx,” said Bronx Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson, a long-time supporter of Boogie on the Boulevard. “We recognize health and wellness and achieving a healthier, brighter, and stronger borough.”

Participants engaged in fitness and wellness activities such as Hoola Hoop classes, Zumba dancing, Kickboxing, Hip Hop Fitness, and various obstacle courses. Over seventy Bronx Runners showed up to participate in a 5K timed run along the Grand Concourse. To celebrate, runners received refreshments and sunglasses with the “Boogie” logo on them. Tai Chi, guided meditation, medical massages, and yoga for adults and kids were available to those looking for a mind and body experience.

Local food vendors and organizations prepared fresh and healthy snacks and gave out samples like hummus with pita bread, shredded carrot salad, apples with sunflower butter, lightly sweetened chocolate covered nuts made by Sustainable Snacks and other goodies for participants to taste on the Fresh Food Block. The “Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh” Games Challenge, hosted by the Institute for Family Health’s Bronx Health REACH, provided a fun way to highlight all of the healthy options that are offered at partner Bronx bodegas participating in the Healthy Bodega program. Participants refreshed themselves with fruit infused water- the perfect alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.

 

On the Arts Block, families took part in the creative process together. Community artists worked with community members to guide them through various arts and crafts projects like button making, card making, live painting, printmaking, and ceramics. At one point during the day, a large audience gathered around some of the local artists as they took part in painting live action pictures of Boogie on the Boulevard. Participants walked away with beautiful sand-art necklaces, drawings, paintings, and handmade cards.

People-powered vehicles was the theme of the Active Transportation Block. Participants learned how to roller skate, skateboard, and enjoyed free bike rides. Many, and took advantage of free bike parking and bike repairs. The big hit of the day were the adaptive bicycles used for mobility, therapy, and recreation. Everyone loved learning about the freedom that these bikes provide for individuals who otherwise would not be able to ride. They liked trying them out too! 

The Boogie Down block featured Bronx-based music and performances, salsa dancing, hip-hop, and music creation workshops for participants to dance and get moving. There was also silent disco for those thatwho wanted to “boogie” in a unique way! A regular at previous Boogie on the Boulevard events- BombaYo- engaged community members in drum circles to raise awareness of Afro Puerto Rican culture and to connect Bomba to the vast traditions of the African Diaspora.

There were no shortage of activities for folks with infants and children! Those with babies visited the Baby Oasis Block for all their parenting needs including breast-feeding tents, parent resources, and for some, mommy and me yoga. The big kids got to enjoy face painting, balloon making, a bouncy house, Euro Bungee jumping, obstacles courses, back to school giveaways, and streets games galore!

For the civic-minded Bronxites, the #Not62 Block showcased efforts to lift up the Bronx from its ranking as the least healthy county in all of New York State. On this block, people were involved in activities for the whole self - social, emotional, psychological, and physical. They also had the opportunity to help improve the health of the Bronx by signing up to join the #Not62 campaign.

 

Undoubtedly, Boogie on the Boulevard was a huge success! As one participant said, “This is a great event to get families and kids out, to get them active in arts, nutrition, the culture of the Bronx and being from the Bronx.” The 2019 Boogie on the Boulevard was made possible by NYC Department of Transportation Weekend Walks program and the Boogie on the Boulevard -Steering Committee comprised of the Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, BronxWorks, Montefiore Medical Center, and Uptown Boogie & Bicycle Advocacy in partnership with a volunteer committee of Bronx residents. Thank you to our sponsors Amida Care, SBH Health System, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx Museum, the Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH, Health First, New Settlement Apartments, and Union Community Health Center.

Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega Campaign was at Boogie on the Boulevard

Participants exercising with low sodium bean cans purchased from a local partner bodega. 

On Sunday, September 15th, the center lanes of the Grand Concourse, from 162nd Street to 170th Streets were closed to vehicles and open to a world of fun for the 6th Annual Boogie on the Boulevard. The Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH was one of the sponsors of the event that featured music, art, dance, fitness programs and healthy food samples for Bronx residents to enjoy.

Bronx Health REACH showcased the Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega campaign as part of its Healthy Bodega block. There were delicious healthy food samples from Sustainable Snacks, Cabot Cheese and partner bodega Aqui me Quedo. The Healthy Beverage Zone distributed fruit infused water. Partners in the Fresch Grab & Go! Bodega initiative offered healthy food samples.

One mom pointing to the Rethink Your Drink! display with the large, sugar filled bag beneath the Arizona Iced Tea can, warned her son that if he continues to drink it everyday, he will suffer from diabetes and other health complications as he gets older.

In addition to all the food sampling, there was the Healthy Bodega challenge games led by  Maurelhena Walles and Talik Norman of Equity Design. Participants had fun using cans of low sodium beans as weights to exercise. There was also a relay race to gather as many healthy food items as you would find in a bodega.  To cap off all the activities at the Healthy Bodega Block there was a raffle and four lucky winners each received a Healthy Bodega Bag stocked with all kinds of goodies. Fun was had by all.

Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Bodega Marketing Campaign Receives Funding from City Council

New York City Council Member Andrew Cohen visited Tita Mini Market, a partner bodega in the Healthy Bodega program. (Left to right)  Ariana Cipriani from Jerome-Gun Hill BID, Charmaine Ruddock from Bronx Health REACH, Council Member Andrew Cohen, Hakeem Al Hariri owner of Tita Mini Market, Liz Spurrell-Huss from Montefiore’s Community and Population Health Department and Frank Marte from The Bodega Association.

The Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega marketing campaign has received $2500 funding from the City Council. Funding was part of the allocation for the Bronx Delegation. In February, members of the Bronx Bodega Partners Workgroup met and spoke with six members of the Bronx Delegation at City Hall about the marketing campaign. At the meeting, some of the Council Members expressed interest in visiting our partner bodegas located in their districts.

Justin Cortes, Budget Director for Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson visited Aqui Me Quedo. (Left to right)  Frank Marte from The Bodega Association (ASOBEU), Justin Cortes, Maria Morales from Montefiore, Juan Romeo-owner of Aqui Me Quedo, Chris McKay from Church of God of Prophecy, Charmaine Ruddock from Bronx Health REACH, Liz Spurrell-Huss from Montefiore’s Community and Population Health Department.

Justin Cortes, Budget Director for Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson, paid a visit to partner bodega Aqui Me Quedo to learn more about the Healthy Bodega Program. Mr. Cortes was joined by Workgroup partners from the Bodega Association, Bronx Health REACH and Montefiore Medical Center. Bishop Earl McKay and son Chris McKay from Church of God of Prophecy, who will be doing a program with the bodega and the Church Youth Group, also joined the tour. News12 The Bronx was there and did a feature on the program.

Charmaine Ruddock from Bronx Health REACH, David Diaz from the Bodega Association USA, Council Member Fernando Cabrera and Frank Marte, owner of Green Earth Grocery.

Council Member Fernando Cabrera visited Green Earth Grocery, and Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. visited La Mina Mini Market. Both bodegas partner with Bronx Health REACH in its Healthy Bodega Initiative. Council Member Diana Ayala visited Los Hermanos, a partner bodega of BronxWorks. Bodega tours were also planned with Council member King but because of unforeseen circumstances they did not happen. We strongly encourage all members of the Bronx Delegation to visit participating bodegas in their districts.

Funding for the Don't Stress, Eat Fresh marketing campaign would help create more consumer awareness of bodegas selling healthy food. The hoped for result would be an increased demand for healthy food in our partner bodegas. To publicize the importance of the campaign, Workgroup members have successfully submitted Op-Eds to various Bronx community newspapers and posted on social media tagging Bronx Council Members.

Click here to find a partner bodega in your neighborhood.

Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega Marketing Campaign Active in the Bronx

The next time you are walking in the Bronx, riding on an MTA bus in the Bronx, or driving behind one of those buses be sure to check out our Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega marketing campaign promoting our fifteen partner bodegas and the healthy food they are selling. Ads in English and Spanish are on the inside and on the taillights of Bronx MTA buses. They are also on four bus shelters, two urban panels (signs aboveground at subway stations) and on LinkNYC kiosks. We are also using Geofencing as part of the marketing campaign.

How geofencing works:  If someone is walking within the range of one of our fifteen partner bodegas that has been set up for geofencing, he or she will receive an ad on their smartphone promoting the Healthy Bodega campaign. The ad appears on whatever app the person may be using at the time, or even appear later. With geofencing, the person does not necessarily have to be using their smartphone at the time when passing by the location set for geofencing. When the person clicks on the ad they are taken to a full listing of all the partner bodegas in the Healthy Bodega program listed by zip code so that they can choose a specific bodega to shop for healthy food.

If you see one of our advertisements, take a photo and post on social media with the hashtag #FreshBronxBodegas. The Don't Stress, Eat Fresh campaign runs through December.

Healthy Bodega Owners Committed to Improving the Health of their Community

This post was written by Juan Mendoza and Naomi Heisler.

Naomi Heisler was an intern with Bronx Health REACH Creating Health Schools and Communities program who worked on the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy marketing campaign. 

Naomi is a candidate for a Master’s in Public Health with a focus on Public Health Nutrition at NYU College of Global Public Health.

Juan Mendoza was an intern with the Bronx Health REACH Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program who worked on the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh marketing campaign as part of the Cooperative Education Program at Hostos College. Juan is studying for his Associate’s in Community Health and is expected to graduate this fall. 

As part of our internship program at Bronx Health REACH, Naomi Heisler and I were assigned the task of liaison to the bodega owners involved in the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh marketing campaign. I had this feeling that convincing bodega owners to sell healthy items was going to be a challenge. Scheduling a time to speak with the 5 bodega owners was difficult enough, but also getting them to partner with a school to promote the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh Healthy Bodega Campaign I thought would be impossible! Fortunately, it wasn’t as hard as I had thought.

At first we encountered resistance from some of the bodega owners. “My store has been here more than 20 years, and when students from the nearby school come in to order breakfast, they only choose a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. In the afternoon, students are not purchasing fruits or salads,” said one owner. Once we explained how the partner school and Bronx Health REACH was going to drive more customers to the store to buy healthy items, the owner was willing to hear what I had to say. The plan was simple: the students would conduct a campaign to promote the sale of a healthy item that the owner selected. We pointed out that he could start by stocking a modest amount of healthy items in the first few days to see if the promotional event was working.

Then, he could restock the healthy items the following week, based on customers’ response. The goal was to run the promotional event for one month. If successful, he could continue to sell the items.  Despite his initial negative mindset, I convinced this owner and the four others that by participating in the  'Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh' Healthy Bodega campaign, would significantly benefit their stores and local communities.

We surveyed the stores to determine areas for improvement in promoting healthy food and beverages. Then we provided the five bodega owners and staff with free training and resources. During the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh training, Naomi and I gave the owners tips on how to promote and market healthier options using standard food marketing techniques. These included: placing a cooler stocked with cold water or fruit salad next to the register to encourage people to make a healthy impulse purchase on the go; placing healthy items on the racks towards the front of the store and at children’s eye-level; and giving away free samples of fresh cut fruit or low-sodium deli meat. We explained that this was another way to attract customers to the deli counter and engage them in a conversation about why low-sodium meat and cheese are healthier and tastier options. We also gave the bodega staff a nutrition label reading lesson and advice on how to prepare different recipes, so they could provide healthier options to their customers.

We were impressed to see the positive steps bodega owners took to become a healthier bodega with the help of their partner schools PS36, 443 and 294. M.H. Deli Grocery, (located at 1405 Walton Ave, Bronx, NY, 10452), placed fruit salads, garden salads and water in a beverage case near the entrance. M.H. Deli Grocery is participating in the program for the second year in a row. Eye-catching signs created by PS294 students from last year are still on display. The signs (in English and in Spanish) hang above healthier options such as water, trail mix, and baked chips. The signs, the bodega owner told us, has drawn attention to those healthy products from PS 294 students, parents, and teachers who frequent the bodega. The success of the student project from last year was one of the reasons the owner agreed to do this project again. Another reason was that his son attends PS294.

Saisel Alloltacar, the owner of SABA Deli, located at 1183 Castle Hill Ave, also has a son attending the partner school, PS36. But that wasn’t the only reason why he decided to do this project. Saisel always has healthy food available in his bodega so “whenever the community decides to make that change in their lives, they can purchase it at my store.” It seems the bodega owners were always willing to sell healthy food, they just needed to believe that their customers would buy these foods. Once they had the support of Naomi and I, and the students from the nearby schools who really care about their community, we found the bodega owners were willing to make the changes. The result, a healthier community.

It has been such a beautiful experience for both Naomi and I to see this project come together, how our efforts are paying off, and that the community is benefitting from our work.

How My Summer Youth Employment Program Pushed Me to the Next Level

This post was written by Larome Johnson, a participant in the Institute for Family Health's Summer Youth Employment Program.

As I was about to begin my third year at the Institute for Family Health's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), it looked to be more of a challenge than the previous two years. Not only would I be working at a new location (2006 Madison Avenue), but this summer my school required that I take a summer class. Juggling work and school, I was not sure I would be able to handle this busy schedule. Being told that I would be working at the 2006 Madison Avenue location for my SYEP this year scared me a little because I knew this location was the corporate office of the Institute for Family Health, and I didn’t know who I would be working for or what I would be doing, so I was hesitant to begin working. The previous two years I worked at the Walton Health Center mainly calling patients to remind them of their appointments as well as helping them make appointments.

Taking the class in the summer and wanting to hang out with my friends afterwards was a real struggle. But I realized since I was now entering my senior year in high school, I would have to be responsible. And, being able to take the class and work in the SYEP program would help me do just that. On my first day at 2006 Madison Avenue I found out that I would be working for Bronx Health REACH. Working here was very different than working at the Walton Health Center. I had to adjust to working in front of a computer all day doing data entry. Also, this is small, but staying awake was another challenge because of how quiet and cold it was.

I was asked to write a list of goals by my supervisor Emily Oppenheimer that I wanted to achieve at the end of my six-week program. I told her that I would like to be better with computers, more comfortable talking to people, and also to understand and learn what were the professional expectations that I needed to accomplish. To help me improve my computers skills they had me do data entry using Excel and communicate via email using Microsoft Outlook. I also used Microsoft Word to design a flyer and I created a PowerPoint presentation. To make me more comfortable talking to people, I attended meetings with churches participating in the Healthy Children, Healthy Families program.

But I was not the only SYEP here at Bronx Health REACH. There were two others as well, Jay Son and Lionel. After attending the first staff meeting we learned that Bronx Health REACH, to promote their Healthy Bodega program, was creating a social media marketing campaign aimed at Bronx youth. The goal was to encourage them to purchase healthy food at Bronx bodegas. I, along with Jay Son and Lionel, were asked if we could meet with Mike and Emma from the REACH staff to advise them on how to best promote the campaign. They asked us if we were on social media, and if we were to promote the healthy bodegas, what would we do if we created a video. Some of the questions we were asked about social media I thought everyone knew, and that they did what we do as young people on social media everyday. I was wrong. Mike felt we had some good ideas so he asked if we would present them to the staff at an upcoming meeting. I offered to do a PowerPoint presentation. I don't know why I volunteered because it was a lot more work than I expected, and I was nervous since I had never spoken in front of a group before.

To enlighten the Bronx Health REACH team, me, Jay Son and Lionel met a few times to figure out what Bronx Health REACH could do to create a social media campaign for their bodegas. After they showed us the signage and images created for the campaign we thought up various video ideas they could do. Some included: A person juggling apples or singing a jingle in the bodegas; a contest similar to the Ice Bucket challenge such as a viral dance in the bodegas; a teenager buying something healthy from a bodega and saying, “If I can do it, so can you!” The videos could be posted on Instagram and Snapchat. Honestly, I thought that everyone had Snapchat but apparently it’s just a teenager thing because Bronx Health REACH does not have a Snapchat. If they did, they would be reaching a lot more Bronx youth. We explained how Snapchat allowed you to post short videos and pictures of basically anything you wanted. Also, in the presentation we gave examples of some snaps people can make to get Bronx Health REACH trending. Although creating the PowerPoint was tedious at times, it enabled me to step out of my comfort zone by presenting ideas to a group, something I never thought I would be doing.

I felt my SYEP at Bronx Health REACH helped me in many ways prepare for college and a job in the future. I enjoyed getting to know my supervisors and people in the office. Everyone was very welcoming and eager to pick my brain for their social media campaign. Just being in this office environment showed me what type of office community I would want to be in. This experience was very helpful and I honestly did enjoy it. Bronx Health REACH asked me, Jay Son and Lionel to work the week after our SYEP ends to help them with the social media marketing for the Healthy Bodega Program.

I don’t think that I could have this as my career because there are many other things I would like to pursue but I feel this is a great organization to give me a kick start in life.

Why the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh School Curriculum Matters

On June 12th PS36-Unionport School and Saba Quality Plus Deli & Grocery unveiled the Don't Stress, Eat Fresh Campaign at Saba Quality Plus Deli & Grocery.

This post was written by Elecia Faauiaso, an intern with the Bronx Health REACH Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program who worked on the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh Curriculum as her Masters Practicum in Public Health at New York University. Elecia also served as an instructor last fall on a counter-marketing study with CS448-Soundview Academy of Culture and Scholarship. She will be graduating with a dual Master's degree in Public Health and Dietetics this fall.

As the project coordinator and intern for Bronx Health REACH’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program working on the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh curriculum, I was proud to see this campaign launch at PS 294-Walton Avenue School, PS36-Unionport School, and PS443-The Family School in June. The Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh healthy bodega marketing campaign is a borough wide bodega marketing campaign launched last November by the Institute for Family Health's Bronx Health REACH, the Bodega Association and the Bronx Bodega Partners Workgroup to encourage Bronx residents to purchase healthier foods and beverages at 56 participating Bronx bodegas. During the past two weeks students from PS 294-Walton Avenue School, PS36-Unionport School, and PS443-The Family School in partnership with M&H Deli Grocery, Saba Quality Plus Deli & Grocery and La Solucion distributed samples of healthy foods sold in the bodegas and posted signage hightlighting the healthy food.

At the three Bronx schools, I provided on-going technical assistance to the teachers with the support of Moria Byrne-Zaaloff, Program Coordinator for the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program. I trained the teachers in the 8 week Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh curriculum, which focuses on: healthy eating, processed foods, food marketing and marketing campaign development. Over the 8 week course students learned about the barriers to healthy foods in their neighborhood and the various techniques marketers use to influence their food choices. The most eye-opening activity to me was when students learned how to read nutrition labels.

A PS36-Unionport parent enjoyed the fruit salad samples distributed by students from the school.

Students brought in their favorite snacks from their local bodega and were shocked to learn how unhealthy many snacks were once they understood the high sugar and salt content of each. One student expressed concern about the harmful effects of consuming an entire package of Takis on a daily basis. She said, “When I eat a bag by myself, I'm actually eating for 3 to 4 people. That’s a lot of calories for me!” After she shared this with me I found that through education and by providing young students with the necessary tools and skills to navigate their way through our complex food system gives them the power to be health conscious consumers.

Each school took a survey of their partner bodega to determine what healthy options were available in their neighborhood bodega and to think critically about how product placement, accessibility, convenience and price all affects the food choices they make every day. Angela Boyle, a FoodCorps member with PS443-The Family School, told me that her students felt “important and professional” doing the bodega surveys, and assessing their neighborhood bodegas “gave them power.” I found it inspiring to see the students take action to change their own food environment. I believe where they eat, sleep, learn, play, and shop should support their choices in living a healthy lifestyle.

The bodega owners showed a lot of enthusiasm and were eager to participate in the Don’t Stress, Eat Fresh campaign. Carlos, a bodega worker at La Solucion shared, “I would much rather see students purchasing healthy smoothies and juices. It is important for them to learn healthy eating habits when they are young, so they do not get sick when they are older.” Students and teachers from PS443-The Family School hope to drive more customers seeking smoothies to La Solucion by posting the colorful posters and coordinating healthy food demos.

Why do we need to focus on these matters? We have so much working against us. The battle between the cheap and easy availability of processed foods versus the shortage of healthy foods in local bodegas; the misleading health claims and puzzling nutrition labels; packaged and canned goods that have colorful cartoon characters and celebrities on their labels. A lot of this subconsciously tricks and confuses the minds of the youth, and even adults as well, to make unhealthy choices. So what do we do to combat the manipulation and barriers? Engaging students in countering unhealthy marketing, reading food labels, and asking their local stores to sell healthy foods will certainly go a long way.

If you live near La Solucion (180 McCellan Street), MH Deli Grocery (1405 Walton Avenue) or Saba Quality Plus Deli & Grocery (1183 Castle Hill Avenue), go in and buy the fruit salad or smoothies promoted by the students.

REACH Funding Included in 2018 Federal Omnibus Bill

Great news! Last week’s passage by the U.S. Congress of its FY 2018 federal Omnibus Appropriations Bill includes $50,95M for the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) CDC program. The Institute for Family Health's Bronx Health REACH has been a REACH grantee since the inception of the program allowing us to develop our community coalition and partnerships to address the longstanding health disparities and their root causes in the Bronx.

This FY18 funding is a major victory given that, up to a few weeks ago, for the first time since its inception REACH had been zeroed out of the President’s budget as well as that of the House and the Senate. Huge thanks to our local representative Congressman Jose E. Serrano who made this a priority along with his colleagues in the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucus.  We also had several amazing partners in DC based organizations including , Trust for America's Health, American Public Health Association, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAH), the YMCA, the National REACH Coalition (NRC), National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), Prevention Institute (PI) and the Public Health Institute who tirelessly advocated for the funding to be reinstated.

Like REACH communities across the country, the Bronx Health REACH Coalition serves as a model of community empowerment that demonstrates how to build healthier communities; promote primary prevention through healthy behaviors; increase awareness of racial and ethnic disparities and promote health equity; identify and promote models of community level change; support system wide changes that address the determinants of health and improve access to respectful, culturally sensitive and high quality care.

Bronx Health REACH applauds Congress for investing in the REACH program as it is the federal government’s only community-based program that addresses racial and ethnic health disparities in urban and rural areas.

Bronx Forever

Image: comicbook.com website

Are there lessons from Wakanda, the fictional country in the movie, Black Panther that we can apply to the Bronx, our own special place? Maybe not specific lessons, but for the only NYC borough with a majority population of color used to being discredited and disparaged we feel a kinship when Carvell Wallace from the NY Times in an essay on the movie “Black Panther” writes,  “Wakanda is a fictional nation. But…[it] must also function as a place for multiple generations of black Americans to store some of our most deeply held aspirations. We have for centuries sought to either find or create a promised land where we would be untroubled by the criminal horrors of our American existence.” Like director Ryan Coogler with Wakanda, Bronx Health REACH's vision for the future Bronx is a place where its residents are no longer troubled by its history of poverty and want but a place where triumph is the watchword for the new order. Where it is not 62nd out of 62 counties in health outcomes.  Where it is not the poorest urban congressional district.  Where housing is good and affordable. Where safety is the new watch word.  Where people live long and healthy because they get to eat right and exercise more. Where graduation rates are the best.  Changes not brought about through gentrification but through a changed socio-economic circumstances for the Bronx black and brown people. In his love letter to the filmgoers who went to see Black Panther, Coogler’s post script, was ‘Wakanda forever’, our postscript is “Bronx forever” #Not 62 #wedreamaworld #Bronxforever. 

The Bronx Salad Available at Seven Bronx Eateries During NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2018

                                              Photo by The Bronxer

The Bronx Salad is now available at seven Bronx eateries during NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2018 through February 9. Launched in the Bronx in 2016, The Bronx Salad is part of the Healthy Restaurant Initiative, a collaboration between the Institute for Family Health’s Bronx Health REACH Coalition, South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO), and the United Business Cooperative (UBC). The Bronx Salad and its signature dressing have received unanimous praise from over 1,000 Bronxites. Made with simple, fresh ingredients, the dressing includes the famous Bronx Greenmarket Hot Sauce, created by acclaimed Chef King Phojanakong, using peppers grown at more than 40 Bronx greenmarket farms and community gardens.

The Bronx Salad is available at the following Bronx locations during NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2018:

Bronx Tavern 780 East 133rd Street, Bronx, NY 10454

Da Boogiedown Caffe 555 Bergen Avenue, Bronx, NY 10455

Fine Fare Supermarket 459 East 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10455

Mottley Kitchen 402 East 140th Street, Bronx, NY 10454

NY Bagel Cafe & Deli 53 Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10454

Porto Salvo 424 East 161st Street, Bronx, NY 10451

XM Cafe at Bronx Museum 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456

To date The Bronx Salad has been offered in several Bronx eateries and has been served to over 500 people at public events in the Bronx such as Boogie on the Boulevard. Initially planned as part of a healthy menu initiative with local eateries, The Bronx Salad has expanded beyond restaurants and is now served at schools and after school programs. BronxWorks has served The Bronx Salad to over 600 people in their children, teen, and adult programs, and The Bronx Salad Toolkit for Schools has been given out to fifteen schools in the South Bronx. Five of those schools have grown and harvested some of the ingredients for the salad.

Faith Based Partners Lead Voter Registration Drives

With help from Bronx Health REACH's faith based partner churches, Deacon Dorothy Faison of Cosmopolitan Church of the Lord Jesus and Royal Eason of Friendly Baptist Church, more Bronx residents have become registered voters. Deacon Faison, along with members of Cosmopolitan Church (Pastor Robert L. Foley Sr., Deacon Palmer, Deacon Rose and Sister Robinson) led three voter registration drives from July to September. When they positioned themselves outside the Fordham Road 4 train station, most of the people they approached were already registered to vote, but many knew others that were not registered to vote and took the forms to give to them. Deacon Faison stated that with the help of one Spanish speaking parishioner, they were able to reach more people and distributed over 150 voter registration forms.

Royal Eason, a member of Friendly Baptist Church led a voter registration drive by himself in the Soundview Park area and at a neighborhood shopping mall. He distributed over 200 voter registration forms and was able to get those that were not registered to vote to fill out the forms right there, which he then dropped off at a Post Office near his home. Why did he go out and register voters? "I got tired of hearing people talk about how they are disgusted with all the bad things happening in their neighborhood. I would let those that were not registered to vote know that it was their duty to vote, and if they didn't vote they didn't get to say anything about how bad things are. A lot of people don't realize the power of what voting can do, and what you can and cannot get unless you vote."

Symposium Provides Forum for Community Based Organizations to Showcase Their Work

On September 27th Bronx Health REACH, along with the Center for the Study of Asian American Health at NYU School of Medicine’s Department of Population Health, and Bronx Community Health Network, all grantees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant; and the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, a CDC Partnership to Improve Community Health (PICH) grantee hosted a symposium, “Community Transformation through Partnerships.” Over 150 people attended the forum that provided community based organizations such as Transportation Alternatives, Casita Maria and others to share strategies and initiatives designed and implemented to create opportunities for healthy living in communities with significant rates of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Dr. Ruth Petersen, Director for the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, 

and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Opening the symposium was Dr. Ruth Petersen, Director for the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Petersen spoke about the REACH program improving the health of many Americans by providing 2 million people greater opportunities for choosing healthy foods and beverages, and 600,000 people with increased opportunities to be physically active as a result of environmental and policy improvements. Richard Hamburg from Trust for America’s Health and Dr. Susan Beane from Healthfirst were keynote speakers. Mr. Hamburg noted that the best long term investment is increasing CDC funding to programs such as REACH as doing so has been shown to improve the health and well-being of many communities. Dr. Beane discussed Healthfirst's efforts to merge health and social services to create and support a "Healthy Village" system of healthcare.

Gail Heidel, Associate Director of Creative Arts Programs at Casita Maria.

Bronx Health REACH partners were featured on two panels. On the Community Leadership and Engagement panel Erwin Figueroa, Bronx organizer for Transportation Alternatives spoke about the work of transforming the Grand Concourse into a Complete Street. And, on the Evaluation and Storytelling panel, Gail Heidel, Associate Director of Creative Arts Programs at Casita Maria, gave an overview of their projects painting murals on playgrounds in the South Bronx to encourage more outdoor physical activity. She also spoke about engaging residents to be active participants in the Bronx campaign to become ‘The World’s Strongest Borough’ utilizing the ‘Mobile Pull-Up Bar of Power.’

Charmaine Ruddock, (left) Project Director at Bronx Health REACH.

The final panel of the day was a unique conversation with funders and grantees discussing, from their respective perspectives, the expectations and efforts of each when trying to effect long term sustainable changes in communities disproportionately experiencing racial and ethnic health disparities. The panelists were Max Winer from New York University, Sarah Oltmans from Robin Hood Foundation, Nupur Chaudhury from the New York State Health Foundation, Linda Lee from Korean Community Services and Bronx Health REACH's Charmaine Ruddock. Charmaine focused her remarks on the importance of getting buy in from the community. "You can't have folks helicopter into the community and helicopter out; there has to be a commitment to the community."

Bronx Health REACH Appears at NYU Community Health Forum and Just Food Conference

The Just Food Conference, a two day event featuring interactive workshops, policy discussions, and opportunities to advocate for equitable food policy, was held at Teachers College, Columbia University on Sunday, March 12th. Emma Rodgers from Bronx Health REACH appeared with Ramon Murphy, President of the Bodega Association and a Bronx Health REACH partner in the Healthy Bodega Program. The panel, Bronx Bodegas: Healthy Retail in the Bronx, also featured Montefiore Medical Center, BronxWorks and Urban Health Plan, each of whom is doing their own Healthy Bodega Programs.

The New York University College of Global Public Health held a Community Health Forum on Friday, March 10th and Bronx Health REACH's Charmaine Ruddock spoke on the panel, Promoting Inter-sectoral Partnerships. Other panelists included, Adrienne Abbate from the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness; Sandra Lobo from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; and Tamara Greenfield from Building Healthy Communities, the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships. Charmaine focused her remarks on the importance of aligning ones organization’s interests with those of ones partners and collaborators for successful inter-sectoral partnerships. To illustrate her point she cited Bronx Health REACH’s Healthy Bodega program which, in its current iteration, recognizes that the success of the program is contingent on bodega owners experience that selling healthy food is as good for their bottom line as it is for the health of their customers. In addition to the Healthy Bodega Initiative, Charmaine also shared with the audience a similar alignment of interests with the restaurant owners in Bronx Health REACH’s Healthy Restaurant Initiative.

The Atlantic's CityLab Cautions Cutting REACH Funding Would Harm Organizations such as Bronx Health REACH

Bronx Health REACH was featured in The Atlantic's CityLab online story describing how the impact of cutting funding from the REACH program affects not only the work Bronx Health REACH has done in the Bronx, but the other forty-eight local entities across the U.S. that receive REACH grants and funding from the Center for Disease Control. You can read the article, "The Fight to Close the Racial Health Gap Just Got Harder," here. Photo: Laura Bliss.

Update on the Bronx Health REACH Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Program

A supermarket tour at Key Foods, part of the Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Program.

As of July 2016, one hundred and seventy patients have participated in Bronx Health REACH’s Vegetable and Fruit Prescription program at three Institute for Family Health centers in the Bronx (Mt. Hope, Walton, and Stevenson). Patients that have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more (considered obese) are given a Vegetable and Fruit Prescription by their doctor. The patient “fills” the prescription by purchasing fruits and vegetables at one of the eleven supermarkets and bodegas participating in the program. Once the patient receives a Vegetable and Fruit Prescription, a Bronx Health REACH Community Health worker provides information about the program and nutrition education.

Patients also get an opportunity to go on tours of supermarkets and bodegas. Conducted in English and Spanish, the tours consist of an aisle by aisle review of healthy vs. unhealthy food, lessons in understanding food labels, and determining which food items provide the best value through unit pricing. At the end of the supermarket tour participants get to purchase $10 worth of healthy food. Three tours are scheduled for August. In addition to these tours, there will also be farmers markets tours. On those tours, patients may redeem their prescriptions for Health Bucks that they can use towards the purchase of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market.

El Diario Features Healthy Bodegas

Photo: Gerard Romo/El Diario

Hylonkys LaChapelle, owner of Gerard Minimarket is participating in the Healthy Bodega Initiative.

The January 30, 2016 issue of El Diario featured an article about the Healthy Bodega Initiative, a partnership between Bronx Health REACH, The Bodega Association of the United States (ASOBEU), and the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN). The article featured the owner of Gerard Minimarket, a bodega that participated in the August training, and featured conversations with  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., ASOBEU President Ramon Murphy, and Bronx Health REACH Director Charmaine Ruddock.

Hylonkys LaChapelle, the owner of Gerard Minimarket located at 740 Gerard Avenue, Bronx, New York spoke of making changes to her bodega after attending the August training. She described re-arranging and moving the best looking apples and bananas to more prominent areas of shelf space.  The result is shoppers purchasing more fruits. “Now, two boxes of bananas (approximately 30 pounds of product) is sold in a matter of a day,” said LaChapelle.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spoke about the #Not62 campaign (the Bronx is ranked as the least healthy of 62 of 62 counties in New York State) and how those healthy bodegas that participated in the August Healthy Bodega Training will now be a “part of the solution offering healthy alternatives to their customers.”

Charmaine Ruddock, Director of Bronx Health REACH provided background on how the training program emphasizes the importance of including healthy alternatives at the deli counter such as low fat cheese and low fat mayonnaise in sandwiches, and water offered rather than soda.

You can read the full article here.

The next two- day Healthy Bodega Training will be held on March 8th and March 9th from 5 to 9:30 p.m. If you know a bodega in your community that would benefit from this training, please contact Zulay at the Bodega Association at (212) 928-0252.

Stark Health Disparities Between Bedford Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights

Photo via Flickr by Eli Duke

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to address health disparities across New York City. Below is an article from Raven Rakia comparing the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn to the Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights neighborhood and the stark health disparities between the two areas.

To read the full Community Health Profile for Bed Stuy click here

To read the full Community Health Profile for Bay Ridge click here



In New York City’s black neighborhoods, poverty, housing issues, and asthma go together

By Raven Rakia on 16 Oct 2015

It’s a tale of two cities. New data from the New York City Department of Health shows the health of New Yorkers can vary drastically by neighborhood and is linked to race, housing issues, and poverty.

Earlier this week, the Department of Health published community public-health profiles that take an in-depth look at each neighborhood in Brooklyn (other boroughs will be coming over the next two months). The profiles detail the poverty rate, access to health care, life expectancy, strokes, asthma, mental illness, and cause of death for each neighborhood’s population. They reveal the stark reality of how health in New York varies along race and income lines.

Living in Brooklyn’s predominantly black neighborhoods comes with an increased rate of asthma hospitalizations. In all but one of Brooklyn’s predominantly black neighborhoods, the number of asthma hospitalizations was higher than the borough and city average for both children and adults. The whiter the neighborhood got, the fewer asthma hospitalizations there were.

The difference is stark: In Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood that is 64 percent black, there were 531 avoidable adult asthma hospitalizations per 100,000 people and 54 child asthma hospitalizations per 10,000 people. In the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights neighborhood, which is 60 percent white, there were 94 avoidable adult asthma hospitalizations per 100,000 people and nine child asthma hospitalizations per 10,000 people.

The four neighborhoods in Brooklyn with the highest avoidable adult asthma hospitalization rates are all over 83 percent black and Latino, and they also have some of the highest poverty rates in the borough. While showing the connections between race, poverty, and health on a microscopic level, the data also offers a glimpse into some of the reasons why the differences may be so high. In Brooklyn, most of the levels of particulate matter (as a form of air pollution) range from 8 to 9.5 micrograms per cubic meter. When it comes to housing quality, in six neighborhoods, 70 percent or more rented homes have at least one maintenance defect. All six of those neighborhoods are predominantly black and Latino, and four out of the six neighborhoods have high rates of asthma hospitalizations. Poor housing quality could mean the presence of mold or asbestos, which are associated with respiratory illnesses.

The most important thing about all of this data is that it shows a complete picture of how the neighborhood you live in can affect how healthy you are. As NYC’s Health Commissioner Mary Bassett told CBS New York, “The health of a neighborhood doesn’t just rely on the decisions an individual makes, but on the resources that are available to them in that neighborhood.”

New Yorkers, if you want to be healthy, it’s going to be much easier if you’re white and can afford to live in a richer neighborhood. For everyone else: good luck.

The original article can be found here.

Over 20 Bronx Bodegas Participate in Two Day Healthy Bodega Initiative to Promote Healthier Food and Beverages

Bodega owners attending the Healthy Bodega Training on August 4.

Mitch Klein casually walked around the television studio housed discreetly inside Lebron's Restaurant Equipment and Business Machines store awaiting the bodega owners to attend the first ever, Healthy Bodega Training seminar. Mitch would be the trainer for the two day, nine hour sessions that were held on the evenings of Tuesday, August 4 and Wednesday, August 5. Getting to this starting point of the Healthy Bodega Initiative had been many months in the making. Launched by Bronx Health REACH, a program of the Institute for Family Health, in partnership with the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) and The Bodega Association of the United States (ASOBEU), the Healthy Bodega Training is a new and important part of the Healthy Bodega Initiative to address the obesity epidemic plaguing New York City’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

This in-depth Healthy Bodega training was created to focus on business strategies, food handling and marketing/promotion practices. It is anticipated that the training will lead to an increase in the supply and demand for healthier food and beverages for customers by providing bodega owners with the tools and information to make offering healthy food and drink options a successful business in the high need, low income communities in which they are located. The training focused on best practices for becoming a H.E.R.O. bodega (healthy, educated, responsive, and operational). Topics covered included: the requirements of being a vendor for the SNAP and WIC programs, compliance with alcohol and tobacco vendor licensing, and appropriate responses to dealing with New York City agencies if a bodega receives a fine. The two day training was videotaped and will be accessible online through a password protected link.

Mitch expressed his confidence in the impact of this training. He said, "I have been doing trainings for forty years all across the country, and over the next two evenings I will be talking about how the small bodega can make a difference and compete against the big box stores. We have great success stories after doing similar programs in Miami, Orlando, and Philadelphia, and these bodegas can thrive and grow their business."

Mr. Ramon Murphy, who is not only the President of The Bodega Association of the United States, but has owned his bodega for twenty years noted, "I hope to see those bodega owners attending the training realize that they can have more healthy food offerings for the community. He went on to point out that “a partnership between bodega owners and the community can help to make the Bronx healthier."

While many bodega owners have been willing to participate in efforts to stock healthy food at the behest of healthy food advocates like Bronx Health REACH and others, many owners have not been able to succeed at selling healthy food because they lack the necessary information and tools to market and sell these healthy foods. The training not only provided much of the needed information, but plans are underway to develop and implement education and incentives to make healthy foods affordable and desirable.

The work is 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.

Just a few minutes past the scheduled start time the studio was filled with over twenty bodega owners taking their seats and donning headphones since most would need the presentation to be translated into Spanish. Mr. Murphy greeted the bodega owners and thanked them for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend the training. He spoke about how the Healthy Bodega initiative would not only be an economic benefit for their bodegas, but also a healthy benefit for the community. 

Prior to holding the training one of the stated goals Bronx Health REACH, HITN and the Bodega Association had was that the training should be practical and useful for the bodega owners. Following the two day training Julia Mair from HITN expressed how the Bodega Association Board members were excited about the fact that the Healthy Bodega training was useful and meaningful to them and the other bodega owners in attendance.

The feedback from the bodega owners was positive. Some of the bodega owners requested more training and expressed their willingness to participate in more training sessions since the topics discussed could be applied to the day to day work in their bodegas. Attendance for the second evening increased as some of the bodega owners brought in people who also worked in the stores. Those bodega owners felt that the information at the seminar was worth having others from their bodegas attend.

The Healthy Bodega Training seminar is a significant step towards offering the community a better selection of healthy food choices. As more bodega owners attend future Healthy Bodega Training seminars, the changes they make in their bodega will enable them to create sustainable practices that mean good business for them and the health for the community.

High Cigarette Taxes Are a Start But Not the Whole Solution

High cigarette taxes are starting to have the impact that anti-smoking proponents have been hoping for. The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 15.8% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are daily smokers, down from 20.4% in 2004. The agency stated that substantial increases in cigarette taxes combined with increased education and enforcement efforts targeting younger smokers contributed to the decline. New York State has the highest state tax in the nation at $4.35. New York City tacks on an additional $1.50 tax making a pack of cigarettes almost $6 more than in other parts of the country. The high cost of cigarettes is a deterrent, but there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done to prevent our kids from becoming the next generation of smokers.

Among adults, the Bronx has one of the highest rates of smoking in NYC. Despite a 30% decline since 2002, southeast Bronx residents are nearly 40% more likely to be current smokers than NYC residents overall and other neighborhoods such as Fordham and Kingsbridge count almost a quarter of their residents as smokers. The danger smoking poses to Bronx youth is particularly worrisome. Research shows that 90% of all adult smokers begin before the age of 18. Although the Bronx has one of the lowest youth smoking rates in the city, 3,000 public high school students in the Bronx are regular smokers with data trends showing that 1/3 of these students will die prematurely because of the habit. These are 1,000 unnecessary and preventable deaths in a borough that already has too many of them.

Bronx Health REACH has been partnering with the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership for the last few years on a number of campaigns to further lower youth smoking rates in the Bronx. One campaign explores the impact of tobacco marketing in stores on youth. Bodegas, pharmacies and other tobacco retailers are some of the last places in the United States where Big Tobacco can market its deadly products to our youth. The Partnership found that of the 11,500 tobacco retailers in NYC, 75% are located within 1000 feet of a school. A recent study suggests that the more tobacco products kids see, the more likely they are to smoke. The “point of sale” campaign aims to educate community leaders and local tobacco retailers about tobacco marketing and youth smoking and develop policies that promote healthier environments. With over two thirds of teens shopping in bodegas at least once per week, it is vital that we focus our efforts on this important issue. 

 On May 31^st, Bronx Health REACH joined the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City and youth from across the five boroughs in Washington Square Park for World No Tobacco Day to educate community leaders across the city about the importance of reducing youth exposure to tobacco marketing in stores. This event built upon the success of the “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” tobacco marketing tours held last October. In the Bronx, students from PS73 led Senator Gustavo Rivera and other community leaders on a walking tour of tobacco marketing inside and outside of the bodegas on Ogden Avenue in Highbridge to show them what they see on their walk to school (watch “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” here).

Going forward, Bronx Health REACH plans to work directly with bodegas, Merchant Associations, Business Improvement Districts, and Community Boards throughout the borough to gain a better understanding of the challenges store owners face around this issue and develop programs that benefit the health of our youth and businesses. Also, we hope to provide workshops for faith-based leaders, community-based organizations and other community leaders throughout the summer. We must continue to listen to and collaborate with these groups and individuals if we hope to create long-term, sustainable changes that better the health of Bronx communities.