Story January 27, 2025

Building a Healthier Future: Our Vision for 2025

Every new year brings new opportunities for great work and 2025 is a big one for us because it’s our 15th anniversary. Over the past 15 years, we’ve made great progress towards building a healthier future for all, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

We're celebrating 15 years of Partnership for a Healthier America!

Our work this year will focus on five strategic priorities that will accelerate our efforts to ensure good food for all.

PHA's Top 5 Priorities for 2025

1. Reaching Our 100 Million Servings Commitment

2025 is the year we will hit our goal to provide 100 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables to communities experiencing food insecurity. PHA initially made this commitment as part of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in 2022. We’re almost halfway to our goal, and we will make it to the finish line by launching more Good Food at Home programs across the country.

Good Food at Home is our signature nutrition program that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to under-resourced families. Third-party evaluations showed that families and individuals who participated in the program significantly increased their produce consumption and adopted lasting healthy habits. We’re excited to keep scaling the program to reach more families in need of good food.

2. Celebrating the Reopening of J’s Grocery in Clarksdale, MS

This year we’ll also be finishing renovations of J’s Grocery, a locally owned 3,500 sq ft corner store in the Brickyard neighborhood of Clarksdale, MS. The new store will be better equipped to carry fresh, affordable, locally sourced produce, which residents of the area currently have limited access to. With the help of our partners at Kuzu Collective, we’ll be able to offer families more opportunities to make healthier choices while fostering economic growth in the community.

This work is part of our larger effort to grow a sustainable, resilient food ecosystem in the Mississippi Delta centered on community ownership. Ultimately, our goal is to connect every Delta family to produce grown by local farmers. Re-opening J’s is a key step toward strengthening these connections and improving access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food.

3. Awarding GROW Grants to BIPOC Farmers and Entrepreneurs

Empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and food entrepreneurs is a vital and emerging focus of our work. Last year, we awarded our first round of GROW grants to six BIPOC food entrepreneurs who are building local good food economies. From developing mobile markets and community gardens to supporting youth education and agripreneurship, our 2024 grantees have been using their GROW grants to foster healthier, more connected communities.

In 2025, we will continue to scale our efforts by awarding a second round of GROW grants. Supporting BIPOC leaders in agriculture has many benefits, including diversifying the food system, increasing access to culturally relevant food options, boosting local economies, and addressing historic inequities like land dispossession. Through GROW, we’re empowering BIPOC farmers in the Delta to own their food and their future, fostering a more inclusive and resilient food ecosystem.

4. Driving Demand for Fruits and Vegetables Through Good Food Cities

As part of our Good Food Cities initiative, this year we’ll be launching a public awareness campaign to promote the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. By increasing food literacy and empowering individuals with the information they need to make informed, health-conscious decisions, we hope to drive demand for fruits and vegetables and simultaneously strengthen local food systems. If you love good food and believe in its power to transform lives, this is a campaign you won’t want to miss — stay tuned!

5. Helping Families Raise Adventurous Eaters

50% of children aged 1-5 do not meet the recommendations for vegetable intake. Our Veggies Early and Often program aims to address this issue by offering caretakers free, science-backed resources, including our updated Raising Adventurous Eaters handouts, which offer guidance on how to introduce a variety of healthy foods to young children. We recently updated the handouts to include an easy-to-use Food Allergen Exposure Chart to help assess food sensitivities.

This year, we will continue working closely with healthcare professionals to distribute these materials, so families can have the tools they need to lay the foundation for lifelong healthy habits. We will also share new information for pediatricians and families to help take advantage of this extensive, interactive tool.

Looking Ahead

We’re kicking off 2025 filled with excitement, conviction, and gratitude for our partners, colleagues, and supporters like you who believe in our mission to ensure good food for all. The work ahead is substantial, but we are eager to tackle it together. Here’s to advancing a healthier, more equitable future!