Food Access Programs

Building a better food system that enables all people—regardless of income, race, or ZIP code—to access Good Food.

Food Access (or lack thereof) is a multi-pronged problem touching on the areas of geography, financial, and personal. 4P Foods, together with our partners, helps to deliver food along with solutions that mirror those challenges.

Geographic

The geographic access challenge is availability to resources for Good Food. For example, no grocery stores within a reasonable distance.

Given your available transportation options, can you easily get to a place that sells Good Food? Geographic access looks very different in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Financial

The financial access challenge of earning enough money for Good Food. Even if there is a grocery store, healthy fresh produce is often a luxury.

Given the accessible stores, can you afford Good Food? Even if there is a nearby grocery store, fresh and appealing produce is often unavailable or unattainably expensive.

Personal

The personal access challenge is about lifestyle and environmental limitations. For example, someone working multiple jobs may not have the time, tools or knowledge to buy and prepare healthy food.

If someone delivered a free bag of groceries to your doorstep, would you have the ability to cook and enjoy them? Many people don’t have the time, tools, or skills to buy and prepare healthy food.

Increasing Food Access in Ward 7, Washington, D.C.

In our most successful program in the Ward 7 neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., 4P Foods increases access to freshly harvested food with weekly deliveries into the neighborhood to a central community center, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy (YBA).

Each week at the YBA, we put on the Field of Greens market, offering the same fresh, healthy food that our members get in their bags each week, but at low to no cost, thanks to a USDA grant that 4P Foods, the YBA, and the YMCA received for the program. To address the personal access challenge, the YMCA puts on free cooking classes at the YBA using our food.

Good Food Resources

Are you or your family struggling to access Good Food? Click here to learn more about resources that can help.