Check out this video about Reinvestment Fund's work to finance the fit out and equipping of a new 15,000 square foot Save-A-Lot grocery store in Winfield, KS. A veteran-owned and operated business, the store is located in a USDA food desert where the previous grocery store closed in 2013. The store will create 30 jobs and serve residents of a low-income community (23% poverty rate).

Honor Capital, a veteran-owned business with a dual mission to employ returning veterans and to alleviate food desert communities, will operate the Save-A-Lot. The store will be managed by Matt Eisenbach, a Naval Academy graduate who served 6 years of active duty. The store will seek to hire local veterans to fill the new jobs it is creating.

The Save-A-Lot will offer a full array of fresh produce and fresh cut meat in addition to typical grocery departments (dry goods, dairy and frozen). Located in a USDA food desert, the store is on the northeast side of Winfield, more than two miles from the only other food retailers in the city, a Super Walmart and a Dillions located adjacent to each other. No other stores are located within 10 miles.

Honor Capital Save-A-Lot (full profile: reinvestment.com/success-story/honor-capital-save-a-lot/)

Winter 2014 edition of the National Civic Review features Judith Bell and Larry Cohen discussing the Convergence Partnership’s approach to place-based environmental and policy change, using the power of collaboration to create a “field of fields.”

This analysis sheds new light on the 106 million Americans — nearly a third of the nation — who are living below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, for whom even a short-term illness, loss of income, or emergency expense can be insurmountable. Produced with the support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, in partnership with Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California, the report shows that even with low unemployment, economic insecurity is growing rapidly.  Since 2000, the population living at or below 200 percent of poverty has grown by 25 million — more than twice as fast as the nation’s population growth overall. In addition to nuanced data on who is economically insecure in America, the report offers bold policies that organizers, policymakers, business leaders, and others can pursue to foster a more inclusive and equitable economy. Download the report and fact sheet.

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This curriculum, conceived as a PowerPoint presentation, is based in the recognition of the central importance of housing and neighborhood opportunity to the social determinants of health. Homes, neighborhoods, air and water quality have significant implications for population health, but have not been widely considered in housing planning, and rarely through a racial equity lens. The curriculum addresses social determinant factors such as exposure to toxics/crime/physical stressors; access to secure, adequate, affordable housing; socioeconomic status; access to fresh and healthy foods; educational attainment; and racial and social isolation. A focus on social determinants looks for solutions beyond medical care and the treatment of diseases and chronic conditions, and toward prevention strategies and the equitable development of communities. The narrative document, a facilitator’s guide, supports the PowerPoint presentation and can be used to guide stakeholders through the steps of an effective equitable healthy housing planning process. The facilitator’s guide is annotated with the corresponding slide numbers of the PowerPoint.