SCAN-New York Volunteer Parent-Aides Association

Through its Healthy Neighborhoods Fund initiative, NYHealth is supporting six communities across New York State to become healthier, more active places.

Although all the communities are working toward the common goal of improving the health of their residents, each community may face particular challenges. By offering responsive and time-sensitive technical assistance funding to grantees and their partners, NYHealth can help them meet their goals. In 2019, NYHealth awarded the SCAN-New York Volunteer Parent-Aides Association (SCAN-Harbor) a grant to expand its youth-focused, resident-driven program for creating a healthier food environment, Get Healthy, East Harlem (GHEH).

Under this grant, SCAN–Harbor provided technical assistance to expand the GHEH program at five New York City Housing Authority community centers and two schools in East Harlem. GHEH taught youth and other community members skills to make healthy lifestyle changes and improve access to healthy foods. It offered a youth training and leadership program for participants to learn about food systems, practice healthy eating behaviors, and acquire workplace skills related to the food industry. Other GHEH activities included hands-on cooking labs for families, pop-up healthy food cafés, and other community-wide food justice events for residents. Through the GHEH program, youth and other community members learned new knowledge and skills to build a healthier food environment and culture in East Harlem.