Oakland Youth Address Community Health and Food Disparities

Youth in Oakland, CA are making things happen.

HOPE Collaborative, a 2012 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award winner, addresses structural inequities and social determinants of health that most severely impact Oakland’s vulnerable youth and families.  WhyHunger’s Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award supported its HOPE Youth Action Board (YAB), comprised of young people aged 14-25. YAB empowers young people to expand their leadership, knowledge, and create youth-led projects that address the root causes of community health and food disparities in Oakland. 

The YAB team created a coupon book, with the aim to help the Oakland community live healthy, eat healthy, and make healthy decisions by learning where to get nutritious food, services and produce locally. The youth researched and reached out to healthy food businesses and services in Oakland to place coupons and ads in the coupon book.  The book was distributed at local markets, helping to bring attention to healthy options in Oakland, as well as demonstrating the power of local youth.

Check out the video below to learn more about these fantastic young people and their work on the YAB coupon book!

Candice Comisi