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Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities

Creating a culture of health through policies and programs where people live, work, learn, play, and worship.

Our Work

Our research focuses on proven strategies of facilitating changes, from the individual level to system-wide policies, to support healthy behaviors, increase access to healthy foods and physical activity, and reduce risk factors that contribute to chronic disease.

Social Ecological Model: 1) Public policy 2) Community t3) Organizational 4) Interpersonal 5) Individual

Utilizing both the聽聽(Bronfenbrenner, 1977) and聽聽(Kumanyika, 2019), our work takes place across multi-sector settings such as schools, corner stores, supermarkets, and faith-based communities. We seek to develop community engagement strategies that will result in a community-driven approach to creating a culture of health tailored to the needs and desires of the residents.

Our goal is to examine and affect the different levels of influence that can improve the health and food environment, leading to improved health outcomes and increased resources and capacity in vulnerable communities.

Through authentic community engagement, we address the needs of the individual and community within the social, economic, and cultural contexts where people live, work, learn, and worship to ensure health for all.

The Current Landscape

In the District of Columbia, as well as across the country, where one lives has a significant impact on the opportunities to live a long and healthful life. We鈥檝e often heard the statement 鈥淵our zip code may be more important than your genetic code for health.鈥

Our work is focused in Wards 7 and 8 in Washington, DC, where residents face higher rates of health disparities across many health markers. The local realities and community context must be at the heart of community-led action and transformation that will achieve the strongest and most sustainable impact.

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Healthy Schools

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Healthy Communities

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News & Notes

Resilient Food System Summit

1:00:41

The Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Lab welcomed representatives from over 50 organizations to 17吃瓜在线 for the Resilient Food System Summit on October 9, 2024. Food system leaders and , along with three insightful panelists, , , , shared their personal and professional commitment to the local food system. The discussions fostered meaningful connections and highlighted the importance of collaboration in building a resilient food system in the Washington, DC, area. .

More News

  • December 2024:聽The聽Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Lab聽shared its FY24 DC聽Equitable Food System report. This report shares the outcomes of stakeholder activities within the pillars of Production, Distribution, and Consumption, as well as our process for monitoring and evaluating the changing food landscape in Wards 7 and 8.

    Check out the latest publication from the lab in the聽, demonstrating the increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables among elementary school children when offered as appetizers and other choices.
  • November 2024: The report was released, detailing strengths and opportunities of the program to support fresh food access in underserved areas of DC. 聽
  • September 2024: The two-year HEAL-DC project focused on advancing health literacy for DC residents has wrapped up. We are so grateful to our partners, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Urban Outreach Ministries, and Wesley Theological Seminary. 聽Partnerships with trusted community-based organizations enhances the reach and impact of pop-up health events, so people can FIND, KNOW, and USE health information for lasting empowerment聽鈥 see .
  • April 2024: The Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities lab's $2.8 million grant from Novo Nordisk to address food insecurity in DC and support local Black farmers was featured in a聽.
  • February 2023:聽Watch the 3-mintue video on聽Faithfully Fit's work in the community:聽"."