Project CAFE

Project CAFE (Community Action on Food Environments) is a school and community-directed project that works to improve food access in Los Angeles, California. Without access to healthy food, community members have difficulty getting the proper nutrition needed for a healthy diet. Strategies are needed to make healthy foods more available, especially in areas with high rates of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Project CAFE is a collaborative project that is aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge of health disparities relating to access of healthy foods, and developing strategies for environmental and policy change that will lead to structural changes that promote healthy eating. The project surveys and maps food environments in LA neighborhoods, and then works to improve availability and access to healthy foods.

The goal of Project CAFE is to identify ways to increase access and availability of healthy foods in Los Angeles neighborhoods in order to decrease obesity and diabetes.

Project CAFE conducted a community food assessment to measure food access. The first two years of the project were devoted to mapping and surveying food availability in three urban neighborhoods. The project identified the challenges to accessing healthy food which included cost, distance, safety, and easy access to fast food. An agenda for action was then created which included (1) attracting new food stores; (2) working with convenience stores to offer more healthy produce; (3) creating farmers' markets on school sites; and (4) establishing food access goals and policies in community plans/zoning regulations.