NHT and Partners Launch Health Initiative in Washington, D.C.
National Housing Trust (NHT) announces ViewStrong powered by the Interrupt, a new coalition to address food insecurity at our Washington View community in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Despite the abundance of resources in our city, residents of Wards 7 and 8 continue to experience lower than average life expectancy and higher rates of health conditions due, in part, to lack of access to healthy foods. More than half of all areas defined as food deserts in DC are in Ward 8 which includes the neighborhood of Anacostia, and over 40% of adults in Ward 8 are considered obese, making the need for healthy food options dire.
To combat the health implications of this disparity in our community, NHT has partnered with Black Nurses Rock DC, American Diabetes Association, Capital Area Food Bank, FreshFarm, Collaboration for Equitable Health, DC Central Kitchen, So What Else, Novo Nordisk and Bank of America to launch ViewStrong, a comprehensive, multi-year campaign addressing the lack of healthy, affordable and accessible foods.
This partnership will bring onsite food pantries, gardens where residents will work and grow their own produce, as well as employment opportunities that allow residents to earn while also giving back to their community. To kick off this campaign, NHT and its partners will be hosting a Community Build Day and Health Fair on April 26th to build garden beds, plant seeds and host a health fair for residents organized by Black Nurses Rock DC.
NHT thanks its partners for supporting a vision of healthy and affordable housing, as well as the residents of Washington View who have provided their invaluable feedback and direction to ensure that this initiative is reflective of the community’s needs.
[1] Food access in DC. (2018). https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Food-ACCESS-in-DC.pdf
[2] Kerr, D., Aram, M., Crosby, K. M., & Glantz, N. (2021). A persisting parallel universe in diabetes care within America's capital. EClinicalMedicine, 43, 101244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101244
Communications Associate