September is Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® month, and an opportunity for us to promote the health benefits of adding more fruits and veggies to our diet. Efforts are taking place across suburban Cook County to make these important, healthy options more accessible and available. Read on below to find out what is happening in corner stores, a large healthcare system, and farmers markets. Also, don’t forget to register for the 2016 Change Institute: A Food Summit where you will hear about the impact of food on population health and the health of our planet, and gather new knowledge from national and local experts on strategies aimed at increasing access or availability of healthier options.

Healthy Choices Are Just Around the Corner

Partners of the Healthy HotSpot initiative, led by the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), are working with local community-based organizations to support corner stores in increasing their offerings of healthy options, including fresh fruits and vegetables. New Way Foods in Ford Heights is one of 14 stores across nine communities that have increased available healthy foods to six or more. To promote their good-tasting and good-for-you fare, they hosted a food tasting in April. Over 70 customers sampled delicious fresh salsa and received easy recipes to share with their family and friends. In addition to food tastings, mobile ads promoting “healthy choices are just around the corner” will be run this month in communities where healthy corner stores are located.Check it out >>

CCHHS Connects Patients with Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

The Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) partners with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to provide fresh produce to patients who screen positive for food insecurity. The “Fresh Truck” currently visits four CCHHS health centers, Cottage Grove, Robbins, and Oak Forest in Suburban Cook County, and Logan Square in Chicago, with plans to expand to all CCHHS health centers in 2017. To date, over 1,500 households that included 5,166 individuals have received fresh fruits and vegetables through this effort. CCHHS also shares information about applying for Medicaid and SNAP and other CCHHS services at these events. For more information, contact Kathy Chan. Read press release >>

Making Good Food More Affordable

The number of farmers markets in under-served areas of Illinois has been growing. But the increase in number doesn’t always translate into more access to healthy fruits and vegetables, especially for low-income Illinoisans who would like to take advantage of the good (but often higher-priced) foods that farmers markets offer. LINK Up Illinois, a program of Experimental Station, addresses this challenge by providing farmers markets with technical assistance and funding to implement Double Value Coupon incentive programs for SNAP recipients. With their Link Card, shoppers can double their buying power to purchase famers markets fruits and veggies. A bill introduced in the IL General Assembly HB6027 would invest $1M in a Healthy Local Food Incentives Fund and expand access to Double Value Coupon programs. Learn More >>