URBAN FOOD POLICY FORUM | Healthy Food Incentives: Scaling Niche Public Programs

Incentives to promote healthy eating, such as the Health Bucks program in New York City, are government-funded initiatives that aim to close the nutrition gap among populations that are disproportionately affected by poverty and poor access to high quality, affordable fruits and vegetables. In this forum, public officials from different levels of government, service providers, community-based organizations, researchers, and policy advocates will share their perspectives on healthy nutrition incentives policies and programs in NYC and the US. The discussion will ask how these programs can make the transition from niche innovations with limited resources to large-scale public programs with lasting impact on population health.

Guest speakers:

• Nicole Andersen, Senior Manager, Nutrition Incentives Portfolio, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
• Cheryl Huber, Assistant Director, Food Access and Agriculture, GrowNYC
• Mitchel Wu, Director, Queens Community Services, Chinese-American Planning Council

Moderates the panel:

• Nevin Cohen, Research Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute and Associate Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

Introduces the topic:

• Nick Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and Director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute