Washington DC – September 2022 – DC shoppers looking for fresh, affordable produce close to home now have an exciting new tool at their fingertips with the reimagined Healthy Corners App! Through funding from DC Health and the Nutrition Incentive Hub, DC Central Kitchen worked with partners at Arlington, VA-based Blue Raster to provide corner store shoppers with an interactive store map that lists the most recent delivery at each Healthy Corners location, recipes, local social support services, and more, all in an easy-to-use format.
“This app addresses unequal access to healthy food across the District by offering up-to-date information about affordable fruits and vegetables for residents in underserved neighborhoods. With healthy recipes and information about local community services, this app is designed to make it easier for DC residents to get access to the resources they need,” says DCCK Healthy Corners program Manager Yael Reichler. This version of the app reflects direct input from District residents who have relied on SNAP, WIC, and other food assistance programs over the past year. A beta version detailing store locations and inventories was initially released in 2020 to help shoppers plan their trips to corner stores during the pandemic, and funding from the Nutrition Incentive Hub allowed DC Central Kitchen to collect and incorporate the perspectives of DC shoppers and store owners in a much more robust digital resource.
Now, Healthy Corners App users can pin their closest participating corner stores through a user-friendly map, check the most recent delivery at each Healthy Corners store location, and explore easy, healthy recipes that incorporate produce available on store shelves. Customers can use the new map to see which stores accept e-WIC and which participate in DC Central Kitchen’s innovative SNAP Match offering, which provides a $5 for $5 match for customers paying with SNAP/EBT when they include a produce item in their purchase. The app also features an extensive library of additional community resources covering topics ranging from housing support, job training, and mental health to healthy eating and cooking.
The free Healthy Corners App is available to download for iOS and Android users via the Apple App Store & Google Play.
Since 2011, Healthy Corners has expanded access to healthy food to DC residents in areas without full-service grocery stores by providing corner store owners with fresh and frozen produce, technical assistance, refrigeration, and capital equipment for the storage of fresh and frozen produce. With a deep focus on residents, Healthy Corners provides year-round community education. Healthy Corners currently serves 53 corner stores and launched the nation’s first SNAP incentive program focused on helping corner store customers afford more fresh produce. In addition, Healthy Corners partnered with DC Health so that WIC benefits were accepted at DC corner stores for the first time last year.
ABOUT DC CENTRAL KITCHEN
DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. Our approach provides hands-on culinary job training while creating living-wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed in our city. We serve scratch-cooked farm-to-school meals in DC schools; deliver fresh, affordable produce to corner stores in neighborhoods without supermarkets; provide delicious catering, and operate fast-casual cafes that also provide on-the-job training. DCCK has been featured in national media including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour, and more. To learn more, visit dccentralkitchen.org or follow @dccentralkitchen on Instagram and @dcck on Twitter.