Engaging Local and State

Engaging Local and State

Engaging Local and State

Stakeholders in Policy Change

This section discusses how advocacy efforts lead to policy changes on the local and state level
to support healthy food retail. (To learn more about how federal programs are assisting retailers
to improve access to healthy foods in underserved communities, see “Scaling Up to the
National Level,” page 32.)
Although every community is different, this four-phase approach to developing state and local
policies that encourage the development of supermarkets and other healthy food stores in
underserved communities has succeeded in regions across the country. These phases include
1) conducting mapping research to develop a base of knowledge on the subject and highlight
areas in need; 2) engaging a targeted group of leaders to work on the problem; 3) developing
a series of recommendations for changes to public policies; and 4) stimulating change by
advancing these policy recommendations.

Phase 1: Prepare and Inform

In the first phase you compile quantitative evidence, create maps and work with community
members to demonstrate the need for more supermarkets in underserved areas. These
materials will later prepare and inform key stakeholders. Conducting background research
lays the groundwork for a successful campaign.

Phase 2: Engage and Empower Stakeholders

In the second phase you recruit a diverse group of local leaders from multiple sectors,
including nonprofit, business, public health, financial and economic development professionals.

Phase 3: Strategize and Develop Recommendations

In the third phase you convene a multi-sector task force to examine the barriers to grocery
development in underserved areas. Task force members strategize and design a specific set
of policy recommendations to promote food retail development in their area.

Phase 4: Change Policy

In the fourth phase you release policy recommendations in a final report issued by the task
force that educates policymakers about methods to address the grocery gap at the city and
state levels.

outlining the process

Phase 1:
Prepare
and Inform
Phase 2:
Engage and Empower
Stakeholders
Phase 3:
Strategize and Develop
Recommendations
Phase 4:
Change
Policy
Compile
evidence
Generate
maps
Disseminate information
about the problem
Identify
stakeholders
Food access
advocates
Supermarket
industry leaders
Government and
civic sector leaders
Community
leaders
Financial sector
representatives
Economic
development leaders
Public health
leaders
Children’s health
advocates
Convene
task force
Identify
barriers
Develop policy
recommendations
Release policy
recommendations
Educate
policymakers
Create
program

Phase 1: Prepare and Inform

Conducting background research is essential to improving food access in underserved communities.
This phase lays the groundwork for a successful campaign by compiling an evidence base, creating
maps and working with community advocates to identify areas that are lower income, lack healthy
food retail and have particularly high rates of diet-related diseases.
Research and Document the Problem
While there are many compelling issues related to food access and nutrition, developing a
common understanding of the problem makes it easier to work towards a solution. Research on
the availability of supermarkets, including sales density, square footage and number of per capita
supermarkets in a specified area, can lead to the creation of maps that lay the groundwork for an
evidence-based advocacy campaign.
Mapping software, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), can present multiple layers of
information, such as food store location, sales density, health statistics and demographic data, in

an easy-to-understand, visual format that resonates with a variety of leaders. It can be helpful to
partner with mapping experts. Researchers, urban planners and GIS professionals at local academic
institutions can create maps that show the relationship between income, supermarket sales and
diet-related deaths. These maps provide a clear and compelling visual representation of a complex
problem by demonstrating that many lower-income communities suffer from high rates of dietrelated
deaths and lack access to grocery stores.
In Philadelphia, maps helped build the case that the need for supermarkets was urgent. They
helped rally economic development professionals, planners, government officials, health advocates
and other stakeholders who had not previously thought of supermarkets as a public health issue.