Project Mentor: Dr. Bill Whitney, Creative Inquiry
2027 Impact Fellows:
Project Description:
How can we help local governments work better to give all citizens access to healthy foods?
After two years of work in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Food Connect project is shifting focus to the Lehigh Valley, and in 2027 we will investigate the effectiveness of government food benefit systems, with a particular focus on access to high-nutrition foods across various neighborhoods. The ultimate goal is to develop actionable policy-based solutions for communities and neighborhoods facing particularly high levels of food insecurity.
During fieldwork and throughout 2025, the Food Connect team conducted extensive data collection, assessing over 800 food items from 32 food retailers and researching multiple pathways currently in use to combat food insecurity across San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. In 2026, the team expanded this work and built a comprehensive web-based platform for identifying and accessing food resources, with a particular emphasis on community college students. These comprehensive analyses led to the development of research manuscripts detailing the effectiveness of current nutritional policies while also recommending necessary policy changes to enhance food access.
Looking ahead, the next phase of the project will involve actively engaging with local policymakers and Lehigh Valley food organizations to determine the gaps in coverage and care and develop innovative solutions for providing resources to all who need them. The aim is to collaboratively implement programs and policies that ensure broad-based access to high-nutrition foods throughout the region, ultimately fostering a healthier Lehigh Valley.