Cleveland residents suffer from higher disease and mortality rates than residents of other parts of Cuyahoga County and Ohio. Social Determinants of Health and racist policies like redlining contribute to these health disparities, which disproportionately impact People of Color. In Cleveland, as in many cities, grassroots leaders have not typically been in positions of power, and existing efforts have tended to lack cross-sector collaboration, collective vision and connection to people’s lived experiences.

To address these issues, the Saint Luke’s Foundation funded FARE (which was then part of The Food Trust)  for a planning year in 2015, when we created an advisory board, did interviews and site visits with local stakeholders, and held a public convening to learn about food access assets and needs in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The report from that year, written with FARE advisors, focused on the following eight food access program areas that had emerged and identified overarching themes about the need for increased collaboration, vision, technical assistance and resources.