Neighborhood Food Action Collaborative
ONGOING PROJECT
The Neighborhood Food Action Collaborative (NFAC) is a community-centered, cross-sector network made up of community residents, community-based organizations, and local healthcare and government institutions. Through collaboration, education, advocacy, and innovative programming, our mission is to create solutions for a more robust, accessible, and equitable food ecosystem in Boston.
Collaborating Organizations
The Neighborhood Food Action Collaboration was formed as a response to a call from Boston residents for better coordination among the many entities that are involved in sourcing, producing, and distributing food to the community.
NFAC seeks to synthesize the many efforts that already exist, led by those who it seeks to serve: community residents.
Collaborations like these, that put residents at the forefront and activate power among the amazing people and organizations in our city, are what is needed to lead change in communities and create a more accessible, equitable health ecosystem in our neighborhoods.
In partnership with Health Leads and Mayor’s Office of Food Justice, we have hired and trained NFAC members to provide education, advocacy and enrollment support for government-funded benefit programs like SNAP.
This peer-to-peer model, which activates the power of community voice and builds community ownership is an example of our reimagined model of community health.
Peer-to-Peer Model
“It shouldn't be this hard if you have a community wanting to help their own community. It wasn’t until I met with [Vital CxNs] that we started to get food for people that they can depend on.”
— Carrie Dubose, Dorchester resident and NFAC member
Meet our NFAC Community Leaders
-
Ric Henry
Senior Community Leader
Ric has been a community organizer for over 15 years. He has worked on campaigns for housing, raising the minimum wage, prison reform, paid sick leave and food insecurity. His work is guided by the saying: “If everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot.” Ric runs the Hyde Park Food Pop Up, a food distribution site that provides culturally-responsive groceries to 200 families every week.
-
Rebecca Riley Greene
Community Leader
Rebecca is passionate about helping others. She believes collaboration is key in providing community members in need of essential resources to food, clothing, housing and affordable quality health care. She volunteers weekly both rescuing high-quality food at local supermarkets and farms and distributing food to her neighbors at food distribution sites.
NFAC Community Leaders are appointed by the members of NFAC to carry out the collaborative’s shared vision of a world where access to culturally-appropriate and nourishing food is not a privilege, but a basic human right for all. Community leaders receive funding, training, and direct support from NFAC’s backbone organizations. The NFAC leadership program is a core element towards reaching our goal of amplifying community voices and building capacity and ownership within our communities.
Created and managed by members of the Neighborhood Food Action Collaborative, our Food Resource Guide is a compilation of trusted free and reduced-price food resources in our neighborhoods.
This guide is updated weekly to provide the most accurate information and ensure everyone can access food, every day.
