Source: CHRYSALIS CENTER INC submitted to
A COLLABORATIVE URBAN RENEWAL EFFORT TO ADVANCE NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION AND EXPAND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN A LOW-INCOME, LOW-ACCESS FOOD DESERT.
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030979
Grant No.
2023-33800-40703
Cumulative Award Amt.
$35,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-00377
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 1, 2023
Project End Date
Jan 31, 2025
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[LN.B]- Community Foods Project Planning
Recipient Organization
CHRYSALIS CENTER INC
255 HOMESTEAD AVE
HARTFORD,CT 06112
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Chrysalis Center's Inc. (CCI) research focuses on the current operation and interrelated components of its Food Hub that is located in North Hartford's Promise Zone (NHPZ) in Connecticut (CT) that is categorized as a low-income, low-access (LILA) food desert. In CT, Hartford is ranked as having the highest rate of food insecurity out of all 169 towns and the 8th worst city nationally, among cities with a similar population, for providing low-income residents with access to healthy foods. In Greater Hartford, 1 in 7 adults lacks reliable access to affordable, nutritious food, which puts them at an increased risk for a variety of adverse health outcomes, including heart disease, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes. For these reasons, CCI will engage in community participation to enhance its community Food Hub to meet the needs of the North Hartford community through food distribution and community outreach, increasing the self-reliance of low-income communities in providing for their own food needs and promoting comprehensive response to local food access. Food Hub components include a food pantry, a hydroponic grow center, raised bed gardens, food forest and a farmer's market.CCI's key partnership for the planning project is with the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut whose mission is to promote solutions to food insecurity, poor diet quality and weight bias through research and policy. With the assistance of the Rudd Center, CCI will assess how people currently access all components of CCI's Food Hub and identify strategies for increased outreach and engagement. CCI will also fully examine each Food Hub component in terms of operations and impact in the community measured by key benchmarks. CCI seeks to elevate the relevance and sustainability of the Food Hub by incorporating this initiative in Hartford's development plans which includes the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plans for HUD funding, and Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Using a Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) lens, the Food Hub will also be incorporated into the local hospital's Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP).CCI's ultimate goals are to share the successes of our partnerships that will help drive public policy on supporting local food hubs and improve create a five-year business plan for the Food Hub to strategically identify optimal levels of investment to ensure its sustainability. CCI appreciates this opportunity to timely reflect on programming to better plan for the future.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
70460993080100%
Knowledge Area
704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
CCI's endgame for our planning project is to increase community impact for the Food Hub. The project goals are as follow:Develop authentic participation in the Food Hub by people and community leaders to unearth issues and reveal strategies to promote food security.Assess how people currently access all components of CCI's Food Hub and identify strategies for increased outreach and engagement.Fully examine each Food Hub component in terms of operations and impact in the community measured by key benchmarks.Incorporate the Food Hub in Hartford's development plans which includes the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plans for HUD funding, and Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Using a Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) lens, the Food Hub will also be incorporated into the local hospital's Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP).Share the successes of our partnerships that will help to drive public policy on supporting local Food Hubs and improve the effectiveness of programming.Create a five-year business plan for the Food Hub to strategically identify optimal levels of investment to ensure a sustainable food system.
Project Methods
Chrysalis is establishing the authentic participation of residents and community leaders as the first method to ensure the community's input and decision making in advancing a more impactful Food Hub. CCI's Food Hub is not only a way to address food insecurity, but also a way to engage community residents in important dialogues and efforts to address other equity issues that influence the social determinants of health within their community.A key strategy in CCI's planning project is to elevate the work of the Food Hub by actively engaging in Hartford's development plans as well as the local hospital's community health improvement plans. This long-term planning, multi-system interagency approach will help build collaborations from multiple stakeholders that foster a sustainable food system for Hartford. The planning project will also culminate in critical local research to inform public policy and create a five-year business plan that will address food security for Chrysalis Center's area of service and beyond.The effectiveness of CCI's Evaluation plan includes the use of Farming Concrete Barn to store data for food production and outcome measures in social domains (community participation by task and hours donated, skills and knowledge, increased food security), health domain (changes in attitudes on health eating), and economic domain (farmers market sales, SNAP/WIC benefits redeemed, food donated).Chrysalis methods also will include examining the effectiveness of community engagement and authentic participation in the food hub by people and community leaders serve to unearth issues and reveal strategies to promote food security.

Progress 08/01/23 to 01/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience for this project included clients in the FreshPlace Food Pantry program, current and potentialnew stakeholders and City officials. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The business plan was shared with the Food and Nutrition Policy Analyst for The Commission on Women, Chldren, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO), Connecticut General Assemby. Food Hub staff participate in panel discussion on food insecurity in Connecticut. Staff have also been invited to sit on food insecurity committees by the RUDD Center at UCONN. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In order to assess the current infrastructure of the Food Hub components - Hydroponics, Railway Gardens, Cosgrove Food Forest, Freshplace, Farmers' Market, La Cocina, and Training and Conference Center (TCC) - Chrysalis Center partnered with a team from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut whose mission is to promote solutions to food insecurity, poor diet quality and weight bias through research and policy. The process included Gathering input from community members and stakeholders Development of survey tool for Freshplace participants utilizing industry standards to measure healthfulness choices, dietary choices, food security and awareness of available resources. Identification of engagement strategy for existing and potential new stakeholders. Interviews conducted by Rudd Center staff to both existing and potential partners for understanding of existing hunger and food insecurity in the community, identifying contributing factors, and willingness to engage in addressing said factors. Conducting a SWOT analysis ofthe Food Hub components. Results were analyzed and priorities identified. A Business Plan was developed.

Publications


    Progress 08/01/23 to 07/31/24

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Our key partnership for this project was with the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. Target audience for surveys were current and potential new stakeholders and clients of the FreshPlace Food Pantry at Chrysalis Center, Inc. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The draft business plan was shared with the Food and Nutrition Policy Analyst for The Commission on Women, Chldren, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO),Connecticut General Assemby. Food Hub staff was invited to participate in a panel discussion on food insecurity in Connecticut. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The main goals for the remaining grant term include finalization of the five-year business plan, incorporating the Food Hub in the City's plans, specifically the Plan of Conservation and Development, the Consolidated Plan, and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, and integrating the Food Hub into local hospital's community health improvement plans and collaborating on initiatives to expand the number of individuals impacted beyond the programmatic and financial limitations.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? In order to assess the current infrastructure of the Food Hub components - Hydroponics, Railway Gardens, Cosgrove Food Forest, Freshplace, Farmers' Market, La Cocina, and Training and Conference Center (TCC) - Chrysalis Center partnered with a team from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut whose mission is to promote solutions to food insecurity, poor diet quality and weight bias through research and policy. The process included gathering input from community members and stakeholders as well as conducting a SWOT analysis of the Food Hub components. Results were analyzed and priorities identified. A draft five-year business plan was created.

    Publications