GW Monogram

Global Food Institute

 

From One City to Many: Scaling Best Practices for Healthy Corner Stores

corner market with fruits and vegtables

 

Project Overview:

This GFI-led research project, funded by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, was a collaboration with DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) and Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to evaluate DCCK’s Healthy Corners program, a unique and powerful model to advance healthier food choices in urban corner stores.

This project explored how to adopt and replicate the model of DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners – which delivers affordable fresh produce to corner stores in low-income DC neighborhoods – in other communities. Over one year, the project team conducted community informed food systems assessments in two distinct regions where PHA has a strong presence: Indianapolis, Indiana and the Mississippi Delta.  

Approach: 

As the partnership worked with communities to assess whether aspects of DCCK’s model would benefit them, we facilitated a participatory process that centered local knowledge and priorities. This approach reveals root causes and systemic vulnerabilities, not just surface-level symptoms, enabling stakeholders to assess interventions with respect to long-term resilience. It also established a community-defined framework for measuring progress toward shared goals, providing clear accountability while maintaining the local buy-in essential for sustained change.  

We used three specific methods within systems science approaches as a part of this project:

Community-based System Dynamics

A series of participatory workshops with stakeholders from different sectors to create systems map identifying barriers and leverage points for health food access.

Stakeholder Network Analysis

Surveys to identify stakeholders in the current food system, map their coordination and information flow; and pinpoint leaders critical to future interventions.

Community-Led Pilots

Site-specific programming to establish shared goals and advance nutritious, resilient food systems.

Key Learnings:

  • Programs must reflect how each community already accesses, purchases and consumes food – with community members involved from start to finish.
  • Local food systems are pivotal: access to healthy food is directly linked to support for local farmers, financial stability and community pride.
  • Community well-being extends beyond physical health to include financial stability, emotional health, belonging and trust – and history shapes how these are built.
  • Shared infrastructure – distribution, storage and equipment – is foundational to successful local systems.

Building Healthier Food Systems in Indianapolis and the Mississippi Delta (PHA Blog) 
 
In a blog, PHA shares how they are working with communities across the country to build healthier food systems. They  break down how and share two examples from our work in Indianapolis and the Mississippi Delta in partnership with GFI, DC Central Kitchen, Instacart and the Patrick J McGovern Foundation. 
 


New Resource: 
Healthy Corner Stores, Healthier Communities: Expanding Food Access Through Neighborhood Retail Brief

Healthy Corners Brief Cover Page_png

For many families, the closest place to buy food isn't a supermarket – it's the neighborhood corner store. Drawing on 15 years of DC Central Kitchen's Healthy Corners program, this policy brief offers policymakers, funders, and community leaders a practical, evidence-based roadmap for expanding healthy food access while strengthening neighborhood businesses. For implementation strategies and tools, explore the companion Building Healthy Corners: A Best Practice Guide.
 

Read the Brief

 

 

Healthy Corners Practice Manual

A valuable product of this project is DC Central Kitchen’s first-ever Healthy Corners Best Practice Guide, developed in Summer 2025. Drawing on real-world experience and years of program evaluation, this plain language manual helps practitioners and advocates across the country to replicate and adapt the Healthy Corners Model.  GW and the rest of the collaborative team continues to disseminate the resource through national conferences and partner networks. 
 

Learn More About the Project

DCCK Healthy Corner Stores Guide Cropped

 


Project Team

Principal Investigator: William Dietz, MD, PhD
Co-Investigators: Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, ScD, MPA, Daniel Chen, DrPH; Caitlin Grady, PhD. 
Collaborator: Sydney Pryor, PhD, MPH 

Partnership for a Healthier America Collaborators:

DC Central Kitchen Collaborators: