Health Tech and Feeding an Urban Population
The goal of this report is to inspire readers – including academics, researchers, community-based organizations, funders, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, government agencies and others involved in the food movement – to think about innovative, technological ways to overcome the challenges facing the food system, including food insecurity (i.e., hunger), access to healthy food, food waste, food safety and food-related chronic diseases.
By describing the ways that technology has been used to find new solutions to long-standing food system problems and by identifying areas where technological development is lagging, the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center hopes to also encourage those in the tech industry to partner with food system influencers to drive increased innovation in this
important sector.
This report focuses on the food supply chain and is the second in a series of five reports the Center will release over the next six months. The first report on Food Insecurity is available here. Subsequent topics include: Food Waste; Food Safety; and Nutrition and Diet-Related Diseases.
Can a half gallon of milk cost $1.59 in one neighborhood and $4.84 in another that’s only a few miles away? Between February and April of 2017, under the direction of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, 30 undergraduate Hunter College Nutrition students visited 41 supermarkets and farmers’ markets in their neighborhoods to answer that question.
As we know, there is no silver bullet for creating access to healthy food. Numerous factors, including convenience, affordability, transportation, previous shopping experiences, and even the weather can impact a person’s ability and/or desire to purchase fresh, nutritious food.
The data from this survey shines light on the wide variation in the cost of specific healthy food items and demonstrates that shopping for healthy foods on a budget isn’t easy. Shoppers have to be savvy, mindful, aware, and often willing to travel some distance to find healthy foods at the best price in New York City.
The Center conducted a short survey in East Harlem and the Upper East Side to understand knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors around food, and to inform policymaking that addresses food-related health inequities in New York City.
Health Tech and Food Insecurity
This report examines the health and economic impact of the more than 260 million meals the City serves each year in public schools, child care and senior citizen programs, homeless shelters, jails, hospitals, and other settings. This market power can make healthier, more affordable food available to all New Yorkers. Over the last decade much has been done to improve this system; this report suggests specific ways and areas in which the new Mayoral administration can further improve institutional food.
Download the executive summary here>>>
Download the supplement to the report here>>>
This report examines current efforts to create new food jobs in New York and explores opportunities for creating additional jobs that provide a living wage and contribute to making healthy food more available and affordable. The report examines the role HUNTER and CUNY can play in creating a good food workforce for New York City.
Download the full report here>>>