The average poverty rate in Buffalo Go Green's area of service is 37.8% using target zip codes of 14208 (40.3% poverty rate); 14211 (39% poverty rate); 14214 (31.4% poverty rate); and 14215 (30.6% poverty rate). These are areas where access to affordable, healthy food options are limited or non-existent and are prime districts of food insecurity. These are areas with known increased risk and fatalities during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Nutrition is most neglected due to a ... Read More
The average poverty rate in Buffalo Go Green's area of service is 37.8% using target zip codes of 14208 (40.3% poverty rate); 14211 (39% poverty rate); 14214 (31.4% poverty rate); and 14215 (30.6% poverty rate). These are areas where access to affordable, healthy food options are limited or non-existent and are prime districts of food insecurity. These are areas with known increased risk and fatalities during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Nutrition is most neglected due to a shortage of proper grocery outlets. Food deserts and food apartheid are substantial on Buffalo’s East Side. They vastly contribute to health issues that include diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other related issues. We intend to address these health disparities medically and holistically through developing and operating Buffalo's first East Side Holistic Wellness Center and providing its services as the flagship of the Bailey-Green Initiative.
In our initial planning we collectively received input from local stakeholders and residents which provided essential feedback. That feedback allows us to recognize and address the most pressing needs of social detriments of health and wellness with which to build health equity while incorporating many current successful systems and partnerships.
Therefore, Buffalo Go Green (BGG), a minority and veteran-founded 501c3 nonprofit community development corporation, is requesting funding for the initial costs of our Holistic Wellness Center, which will address essential racial equity of health and wellness needs of those defined as Buffalo's most vulnerable. We have been involved in several projects throughout the city of Buffalo in our public-nonprofit partnership with Urban Fruits & Veggies, LLC. (UFV) via an innovative Land Lease MOU that enhances this project.
This partnership delivers essential programming including a corporate wellness division which embeds services into local businesses and universities; nutrition education and farm programming for elementary and high school students; our "Going Forward" education system that includes introducing our high school students to traditionally Black Universities that offer both Agriculture and Green Technologies degrees; and we also work with the City of Buffalo in Summer City Fitness - a collaboration with Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Further, our six fully- funded hydroponic greenhouses being installed will provide space for additional nutritional growing education components.
BGG's most successful program also provides services to waylay diseases related to poor nutrition through innovative outreach and services in our Fruits & Vegetables Prescription Program (FVRx). In the FVRx program, BGG partners with the Community Health Centers of Buffalo and Niagara Falls (CHCB). FVRx provides patient meetings with a nutritionist who provides nutrition reports to their physicians. Physicians then determine the patient's
nutritional needs and BGG and UFV provide the fruits and vegetables at no cost to those in need. FVRx also supplies patients with dietary information and recipes along with interactive cooking demonstrations throughout the year.
We also work within a nonprofit-led cross-sector collaboration structure with other nonprofits, for-profit businesses, the University at Buffalo, CHCB, and many others to create a hub of wellness and systemic change while addressing the physical and mental health of our client base creating equity and balance for our constituents.
The University at Buffalo Food Lab allows us to effectively collaborate with time sensitive statistics and food and health-related studies. And, we are also part of the University at Buffalo's Veggie Van Program. This academic partnership has been ongoing for three years.
Further collaborators include Cornell Cooperative Extension, African American Heritage Co-op, Massachusetts Avenue Project, Independent Health, Community Health Centers of Buffalo, CASNY, HEAL Food Alliance, Food Policy Council of Buffalo and Erie County, Grassroots Gardens of WNY, Greater Buffalo Urban Growers, Groundwork Market Garden, 5 Loaves Farms, NE SARE, Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, Journey's End, Cazenovia Recovery, Matt Urban Center, Fillmore Forward, Black-Indigenous People of Color Farming, and Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled. Each of these partnerships have been in existence for at least three years.
Our next goal is to develop a Holistic Wellness Center on Buffalo's East Side. As wellness is a state of being in good health as it relates to the body and mind, the Center will also address these issues resulting in increased awareness of how one can have a measure of control over one’s own health. Further, the Center will also tackle the social determinants of health such as economic stability along with environmental health in an area of Buffalo, NY in desperate need. To create a solution for decades-long disparity, we must, first and foremost, incorporate major systemic change in the way we view poverty, social inequity, health disparities, and partnering for the public good. In an area that is rife with fast food restaurants but also isolated from healthy, nutritious food acquisition, the Center will be an oasis not only addressing healthy food options and increased health through nutrition, but also addressing the needs of body, soul and mind through holistic remediation principles.
The construction of this planned 22,500 square foot Wellness Center in Buffalo's East Side also incorporates the guiding principle of nonprofit-led cross-sector collaboration and will provide further partnership with Dr. Lenora Ansari of the Community Health Centers of Buffalo who will operate two clinic rooms providing privacy and accommodation for patients and visiting medical programs. Additionally, the University at Buffalo Dental Clinic will provide Oral Health services and the Minority Bar Association for Medical Legal Services will address homelessness and other social factors that contribute to poor health are added as wrap-around services. Further, we will be partnering with other community-based nonprofits and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Peacekeepers, Groundwork Market Gardens and others. It truly takes a Village.
The construction of this planned 22,500 square foot Wellness Center in Buffalo's East Side also incorporates the guiding principle of nonprofit-led cross-sector collaboration and will provide further partnership with Dr. Lenora Ansari of the Community Health Centers of Buffalo who will operate two clinic rooms providing privacy and accommodation for patients and visiting medical programs. Additionally, the University at Buffalo Dental Clinic will provide Oral Health services and the Minority Bar Association for Medical Legal Services will address homelessness and other social factors that contribute to poor health are added as wrap-around services. Further, we will be partnering with other community-based nonprofits and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Peacekeepers, Groundwork Market Gardens and others. It truly takes a Village.
There will be an on-site commercial kitchen for cooking and nutrition classes utilizing the produce from the six greenhouses. An addition of 15 market rate apartments will provide sustainability through rents as will produce sales, space rental on the main floor used by commercial wellness programs, and cold storage rental in the basement for local urban farms.
As additional programs at the Wellness Center will provide alternative options for the community residents to address their various health, wellness and safety needs such as fighting existing food deserts and food insecurity with clean food production through hydroponic growing, we also will provide Yoga and Meditation; Physical Fitness in the onsite gym offering fitness classes and personal training; nutrition education presented in the commercial kitchen to address meal preparation for diabetic, hypertensive, and obese individuals using food grown on premises; a Senior Feeding Program; and Parenting classes.
Low-income neighborhoods often get services and social programs outside the area to treat or try to mitigate a problem. The Holistic Wellness Center will be a permanent fixture in the neighborhood to not only address some of the long-term negative systemic impacts but to provide a space of light, hope and powerful energy! Once issues are addressed or resolved the Wellness Center will still be of service with programming that will maintain the beneficial new lifestyles of our neighbors. During community meetings residents have expressed excitement about a place of positivity in their own neighborhood.
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