Nutrition

CARE is dedicated to supporting wellness and healthy food access for everyone, particularly people who experience food insecurity. We partner with food pantries in New Haven to implement Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP), an evidence-based nutrition program aimed at increasing access to and distribution of healthier foods.

With SWAP, we use a stoplight system to promote better food choices at food banks and pantries. Through training and guidance, pantry staff and volunteers become equipped to categorize foods as Green, Yellow, or Red based on their nutritional values – with Green representing the healthiest choices. Pantries receive promotional materials and learn how to label items with color-coded tags, making it easy for guests to spot the more nutritious options.

Currently implemented in 10 pantries across New Haven, SWAP reaches over 25,000 people each year, with many pantries concentrated in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color, as we seek to address health inequities.

SWAP Pantries:

Beulah Heights

Christian Community Action

Cathedral of Higher Praise

Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK)

Loaves and Fishes

NICE Center

Upon this Rock Church

Women of the Village

Varick AME Zion Church

The Greater New Haven Coordinated Food Assistance Network (CFAN) is a dynamic coalition of local food assistance providers, passionate individuals who've experienced food insecurity, and dedicated community organizations, all coming together to ensure everyone has access to nourishing food in our region while promoting equity and justice

We envision a unified system of food assistance that ensures equitable, dignified, and culturally appropriate access to nutritious food for all residents of Greater New Haven.

Founded in 2019, with the support of REACH funding, CFAN brings together food assistance providers and local leaders across the Greater New Haven area with two backbone organizations serving as neutral conveners – the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement and the United Way for Greater New Haven.

Though we address immediate needs, our ultimate focus is on enacting policy changes, transforming systems, and making structural shifts to ensure long-term and sustainable access to healthy food for all. At CFAN, we believe that by working together, we can create a brighter, more nourished future for every member of our community.

To learn more about our work, please explore our community reports.

#GiveHealthy is an innovative virtual food drive platform that strives to make a meaningful impact on hunger relief. Our goal is simple yet powerful – raising donations of healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, for those in need.

To achieve this, we collaborate with local institutions like Yale New Haven Health Hospital, who generously sponsor the drives. Once the campaign concludes, #GiveHealthy ensures that the donated foods find their way directly to participating food pantries.

#GiveHealthy allows us to come together virtually, creating a wave of healthy donations that nourish our community.

Learn more about #GiveHealthy

Working hand in hand with CARE and New Haven Healthy Start, we are committed to creating a nurturing environment where breastfeeding is embraced "any time, any place."

The New Haven Breastfeeding Task Force is a vibrant city-level initiative dedicated to supporting breastfeeding in our community. Our mission is to build strong partnerships, address inequities in breastfeeding services, and advocate for policies that support parents' intentions to breastfeed.

We have launched the "We Support Breastfeeding: Any Time, Any Place" campaign, which strives to make New Haven even more breastfeeding-friendly.

Understanding the importance of culturally-sensitive lactation education and support, we listened to valuable feedback from local parents and our Task Force. As a result, we developed "The Roots of Racial Inequities in Breastfeeding," a specialized training for healthcare providers that promotes equitable and inclusive care.

If you want to learn more about the New Haven Breastfeeding Task Force and our ongoing efforts, check out our website at https://www.bfcfnhv.org/. Join us in building a stronger, more supportive community for breastfeeding.

CARE collaborates with the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC) to address high rates of diabetes in New Haven. As part of the PRC's core research project from 2019 to 2024, we have implemented a virtual Diabetes Prevention Program (v-DPP) research study in Greater New Haven.

Our study focuses on assessing the feasibility and pathways for implementing a virtually-delivered Diabetes Prevention Program for adults at risk for type 2 diabetes, particularly those with limited economic resources residing in New Haven or the Lower Naugatuck Valley.

Participants in this one-year program gain access to the vDPP app and have the support of a dedicated health coach. Local Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a pivotal role in identifying and addressing barriers that could hinder successful program participation, such as food access, utilities, and transportation. These invaluable CHWs also provide crucial referrals to local resources, ensuring that participants have access to services and supports.

Our ultimate goal with this intervention is to create positive changes in various aspects of participants' lives, including diet quality, physical activity levels, blood sugar, body weight status, and blood pressure. By providing individuals with tools and support, we strive to pave the way for healthier lives.

We're on a journey to make a difference in diabetes prevention and improve the overall well-being of our community.

With support from a USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production grant, The City of New Haven Food System Policy Division (FSPD) is developing the very first New Haven Urban Agriculture City-wide Plan.

This plan is all about breaking down barriers and bridging information gaps that have hindered urban agriculture in our city. We want to make things simpler and more accessible, ensuring that anyone interested in urban agriculture can easily navigate city processes and stay up-to-date on land-use policies. But the heart of the mission is to foster the growth of urban agriculture projects, especially among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and in low-income neighborhoods across New Haven.

As part of this significant effort, CARE is proud to play a crucial role as an external evaluation consultant. We're actively involved in developing and analyzing surveys, gathering data on urban agriculture resources here in Connecticut, and engaging in research and evaluation efforts with the FSPD team. Together, as a community, we can cultivate a vibrant and sustainable urban agriculture landscape for New Haven.