Community Food Advocates

Community Food Advocates (CFA) is a U.S. nonprofit organization focused on addressing food insecurity, poverty, and promoting a sustainable food system in New York City. Founded in 2010, CFA aims to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food as an essential part of an equitable food system.

Mission and Activities

CFA's mission is rooted in the belief that access to nutritious food is a fundamental human right and a critical component of addressing income equity issues. The organization works to dismantle barriers to food access by engaging in high-impact public policy advocacy, coalition building, and strategic partnerships. CFA recognizes that lack of food access is often compounded by systemic racial and gender-based disparities.

Key Programs

• School Meals: CFA advocates for policies and initiatives that improve school meals, making them more enjoyable, welcoming, and student-centered. One of their notable successes was leading the "Lunch 4 Learning" campaign, which resulted in the adoption of universal free school lunch for all New York City public schools in 2017[4][5].

• Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP): This program aims to transform how public institutions use their food procurement power to support local and regional food systems. GFPP focuses on value areas such as local economies, health, racial equity, workforce value, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability[4][5].

• Supermarket Access: CFA works to improve access to quality, affordable supermarkets in low-income and gentrifying neighborhoods in New York City. They partner with stakeholders to develop comprehensive solutions to address this issue[5].

• Youth Leadership: CFA provides experiential learning opportunities for young people, enabling them to develop skills and engage in systemic changes within the food system.

Impact and Strategy

CFA's approach involves coalition building and policy advocacy to create broad-based support for sustainable food system changes. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, including those directly affected by food insecurity, CFA works to influence government policies and programs that promote greater food access for communities in poverty[3][5]. Their efforts often involve conducting policy and budget analyses to inform advocacy efforts.

Overall, Community Food Advocates plays a pivotal role in shaping New York City's food policies and advancing equitable access to healthy food for all residents.