The Health Trust is one of the four winners of Google’s Bay Area Impact Challenge! Thanks so much to all of our partners and supporters who have helped get the word out and to Google for this opportunity.
The aim of the Challenge was to search for the most innovative ideas for making Bay Area communities an even better place to live. The Health Trust was chosen as a finalist for our inventive approaches to make affordable, quality, nutritious food accessible in low-income neighborhoods.
The public was asked to vote online from May 22 to June 2 and choose among ten finalists. On June 3 the top four winning projects were revealed at Google’s celebration event in San Francisco. The Health Trust joins Mission Asset Fund, Hack the Hood, and Bring Me a Book in each winning a $500,000 grant from Google.
The Health Trust’s proposal for the Challenge creates new distribution channels for affordable produce in Santa Clara County through the Good. To Go. campaign, expanding street vendors, corner stores, and farmers’ markets for underserved areas.
- Bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to public areas in residential neighborhoods of San Jose through a mobile produce vendor program. The program provides entrepreneurial opportunities to neighborhood residents, who will operate their own carts, while increasing access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods
- Promoting fresh produce and other healthy items within small markets and convenience stores by providing equipment and technical assistance to their owners.
- Increasing the availability of farmers’ markets by establishing small, certified markets on private property through training and technical assistance to community organizations.
Please visit the Good. To Go. Facebook Page to follow our food access work and contact ErinH@healthtrust.org for more information.