Healthy Food, Healthy People: The Relationship Between Food and Real Estate

Cosponsored with Funders Network for Smart & Livable Communities and Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders

Obesity, hunger, and malnutrition remain pressing issues for communities across the country, highlighting the deficiencies in our nation’s food system. It is not set up to support healthy living for many U.S. residents, and the food system both contributes to and is threatened by high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, food waste, and climate change. Yet, across the United States, people have a growing interest in and awareness of the value of fresh, local food. Activities such as growing produce at home or in community gardens increased by 17 percent between 2008 and 2013. This focus on local food is spurring innovation in real estate and is providing a rich arena for creativity that can improve outcomes for people, the planet, and profits.

With support from The Colorado Health Foundation and the Leichtag Foundation, the Urban Land Institute recently published Cultivating Development: Trends and Opportunities at the Intersection of Food and Real Estate, which details opportunities to profitably build places that conserve farmland, support access to healthy food, and increase local knowledge of cooking and nutrition. The report also includes insights from the Reinvestment Fund on overcoming barriers around developing grocery stores in underserved areas and the Leichtag Foundation and Coastal Roots Farm on training young farmers to grow both food and community.

This webinar was an engaging discussion of how cross-sectoral partnerships among real estate developers, public sector institutions, universities, restauranteurs, chefs, farmers, and food retailers can support the health of people and the planet. Speakers included: Daron Joffe of Leichtag Foundation and Coastal Roots Farm, Ed McMahon of Urban Land Institute, Donna Leuchten Nuccio of Reinvestment Fund, and Christopher Smith of The Colorado Health Foundation.