December 2012

Two Bridges Community Food Assessment

For more than half a century, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council's programs, projects, and activities have nurtured the unique character of the Lower East Side by building bridges among its diverse communities. We create equitable housing, celebrate cultural diversity through neighborhood-based programs, and work together with local residents, businesses, entrepreneurs, and leaders to stimulate and maintain economic vitality. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council is committed to protecting and enhancing access to fresh and affordable food in the Two Bridges neighborhood. Two Bridges, on Manhattans Lower East Side is an ethnically and economically diverse community. It is, however, among the lowest-income neighborhoods in Manhattan, and has one of the highest rates of reliance on food subsidy benefits. In the late 70s and early 80s, Two Bridges & Settlement Housing Fund led the fight to bring a fullservice supermarket to our neighborhood, resulting in the construction of a Pathmark Supermarket on lot 8 of the Two Bridges Urban Renewal Area. The 24-hour Pathmark Supermarket & Pharmacy have served our community for almost 30 years (1983 to 2012).

For over 30 years, Two Bridges has led community advocacy around fresh & affordable food access in our neighborhood.

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Two Bridges Community Food Assessment: Food Stamp Reliance

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Two Bridges & James Johnson-Piett, principal of Urbane Development, one of the nations leading experts on inner-city food access, are developing interim and long-term strategies for serving the needs of the Two Bridges community. Mr. Johnson-Piett consulted on the Going to Market Plan: New York Citys Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage; serves on the Board of the Community Food Security Coalition; is a co-convener of the National Healthy Corner Store Network; and is an advisory council member to the USDAs Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development Program.

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Total households receiving Food Stamps in 2008 (Estimate)

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The Two Bridges Neighborhood has one of the highest rates of food stamp reliance in New York City.

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In late September 2012, Pathmark Supermarket announced its intention to close before the end of the year. Its replacement is likely to be a market-rate to luxury residential tower. A fixture in the largely low-income residential neighborhood for 30 years, Pathmarks closure has both immediate and long-term implications for the residents of the Two Bridges neighborhood.
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December 2012

The goals of the Two Bridges-Urbane Development Collaboration include: Creating interim affordable food access; developing a more resilient, affordable fresh food network in Two Bridges; and strengthening our local economy. To achieve these goals, Two Bridges and Urbane Development have developed survey tools for both residents and local businesses to gauge the level of need and opportunity in the neighborhood.
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Two Bridges Community Food Assessment: Walking Distances

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Pathmark Site Parks Walking Distances 2-5 minutes=1/8 mile

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Surveys reveal that the majority of residents do their shopping on foot. Understanding the nature of peoples shopping habits will help us design relevant solutions to the neighborhood food access issue.
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A detailed survey of local business owners is underway to understand this neighborhoods existing capacity to feed residents currently reliant on Pathmark, and to strengthen the food network and local economy, including bodegas, small-scale groceries, fruit and vegetable stands and pharmacies. The survey will enable us to connect to store owners who may be interested in working with us to build and enhance their businesses to better serve the needs of the neighborhood. Together, the surveys data and additional research will be compiled to create a grocery guide to the neighborhood. The guide will serve as a roadmap and index of affordability, to allow residents to locate the goods & services they require. The guide will be published in the spring of 2013. For more information about Two Bridges and our Community Food Assessment: http://tinyurl.com/twobridgesfood
Kerri Culhane Associate Director Two Bridges Neighborhood Council 275 Cherry Street New York, New York 10002 212/566-2729 // kerri@twobridges.org

http://www.twobridges.org

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Through public meetings, surveys and community-based programs, Two Bridges is engaging residents in a larger discussion about food access, quality, nutrition & health in the neighborhood. The Shopping survey will help us understand peoples needs and shopping habits. The multilingual survey (English, Spanish & Chinese) is available online as well as in paper format. Results from this survey will be reported in late December 2012.

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