A Focus on Food Equity: Blue Zones Project Marks World Food Day
As countries around the globe observe World Food Day on Oct. 16—a date the United Nations established in 1945 to address hunger—Blue Zones Project Fort Worth is doing its part to improve healthy food access at home.
Over the years, the mission of World Food Day has evolved. This year’s theme, “Our Actions are Our Future: Better Food Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life,” mirrors Blue Zones Project’s own goal of breaking down barriers to make healthy food choices more affordable and accessible so that Fort Worth residents can lead longer, better lives. That means understanding where the needs are greatest, forming community partnerships, and finding innovative ways to put fruits and vegetables within everyone’s reach.
For Blue Zones Project, it starts with supporting local farmers. Early in its efforts to make Fort Worth one of the healthiest cities in the country, Blue Zones Project worked with city leaders to adapt Fort Worth ordinances to allow for more urban agriculture and neighborhood farmers markets. As a result, there’s been an increase in community farming and ability for residents to purchase fresh foods grown close to home.
To help families stretch their shopping budgets and put more produce on the table, Blue Zones Project also brought the Double Up Food Bucks initiative to Fort Worth. Now, anyone who uses federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits can buy fresh fruits and vegetables at 50% off at participating locations. The program has been a great success, thanks to tremendous support from Foodland Inc.—which implemented Double Up Food Bucks at three local grocery stores and the Cowtown Farmers Market, which now accepts SNAP benefits.
But sometimes even half-price is too much for a struggling family. Recently, Blue Zones Project introduced a Good For You Pantry initiative at nine area elementary and middle schools. Located in areas of the city with great need, the pantries offer no-cost fresh produce and other healthy staples such as brown rice and beans—the kinds of foods you find in “Blue Zones” areas of the world where people live the longest with less chronic disease. Pantry customers receive recipe cards with tips for cooking vegetables and links to virtual cooking demonstrations to help them make the most of the items they take home. Blue Zones Project is also partnering with more than a dozen community centers to provide families with access to fresh produce on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile, as 2021 World Food Day efforts point out, the food we choose and the way we consume it affect our health and the health of our planet. In an effort to prevent waste and create truly sustainable solutions, Blue Zones Project also recently launched a food recovery program, working with Foodland Inc. to collect thousands of pounds of viable produce every week that would normally be thrown away. That effort is in its early stages, but the hope is to eventually use those resources to help feed local families. Compost Carpool is also partnering on the project, turning past-prime fruits and veggies into compost for urban farms and school gardens.
There are no easy answers to solving food insecurity, but these kinds of community partnerships are making a difference throughout Fort Worth. And over the last 18 months, Blue Zones Project has multiplied its efforts to donate food and partner with farms and organizations to make sure no one is without access to healthy foods.
As Blue Zones Project and its partners work to address food access and affordability in Fort Worth, this community is also setting new habits and standards for future generations, and one of those is to make healthier choices easier for everyone in the community. Learn more about Blue Zones Project’s work to grow well-being—from supporting urban farming to guiding mobile fresh market owners—at LiveLongFortWorth.com.