The 2012UrbaniteProj ecT:HealtHyFoodchal lenge

Submission Deadline: May 31, 2012

www.urbaniteproject.com

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge www.urbaniteproject.com2

URBANITE PROJECT 2012:HEALTHY FOOD CHALLENGEREQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

I. Opportunity Summary

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge calls for creative, innovative, non-traditional ideas that address one or more of the barriers to affordable, healthy food for Baltimore City residents living in food deserts. Awards include cash prizes totaling $12,000. The challenge is jointly sponsored by the Baltimore City Health Department, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Stratford University, United Way of Central Maryland, and Urbanite magazine.

II. Introduction to Food in Baltimore

Introduction to BaltimoreBaltimore is a city in transition from an industrial past to a future dominated by educational and medical institutions, the biotechnology industry, and the service economy. The city has more than 630,000 residents living in approximately 80 square miles, making it the twenty-first most populous city in the United States and the largest in Maryland. Baltimore’s collection of distinct neighborhoods forms a vibrant, diverse, and dense city on the Chesapeake Bay. Many of Baltimore’s neigh-borhoods, especially those close to the harbor, primarily consist of rowhouses and small-scale retail corridors. Baltimore has more historically designated structures than any other American city, and is widely seen as the state’s cultural and com-mercial capital. The city has also suffered from a severe population decline, having decreased by one-third since its peak of nearly 950,000 people in 1950, and there-fore has a significant amount of vacant real estate (nearly 16,000 houses).

What is a Food Desert?According to Baltimore City’s Food Policy Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, food deserts are residential block groups that share the following qualities:

More than 1/4 mile from a major supermarket• Median household income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty • level40 percent of households have no access to a vehicle• The Healthy Food Availability Index for existing supermarkets and corner • stores is low

For a map of Baltimore City’s food deserts, see VII. Appendix.

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge www.urbaniteproject.com 3

Today, 20 percent of Baltimore City qualifies as a food desert. One in four school-age children and one in four African American residents lives in a food desert. 36 per-cent of Baltimore’s neighborhoods have food deserts in them.

Echoing much of America, Baltimore has become unhealthy, and studies have shown that people living in food deserts are more likely to have higher rates of dia-betes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Roughly two-thirds of the city’s adults and nearly 40 percent of high school students are overweight or obese. Major dispari-ties exist between the obesity rates of whites and blacks, people with and without college degrees, and households making more and less than $25,000 a year. A re-cent Baltimore City report found that 43 percent of residents in the city’s predomi-nantly black neighborhoods have very limited access to healthy food, compared with just 4 percent of predominantly white neighborhoods.

Institutional Partners: A team of partners is collaboratively administering the com-petition. The team includes:

Baltimore City Health Department• (part of Baltimore City’s Food Policy Ini-tiative) www.baltimorehealth.org Maryland Department of Agriculture• www.mda.state.md.usStratford University• www.stratford.eduUnited Way of Central Maryland• www.uwcm.orgUrbanite • magazine www.urbanitebaltimore.com

Sponsors: American Communities Trust, Enoch Pratt Free Library, The Marc Steiner Show, Richardson Farms, Zia’s

III. Competition Explanation

Challenge StatementUrbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge seeks ideas for transforming Balti-more into a healthy city. Specifically, we’re seeking creative, innovative, non-tradi-tional ideas that address one or more of the barriers to affordable, healthy food for Baltimore City residents living in food deserts.

Barriers to healthy food for people living in food deserts include, but are not limited to:

Transportation• A lack of healthy food at nearby stores• A lack of healthy food options at such charitable organizations as soup kitch-• ens, food pantries, etc.Education—a lack of knowledge about which foods are healthiest, how to • prepare them, etc.A lack of food preparation appliances, equipment• Time—for example, a single parent working multiple jobs has limited time • to shop for and prepare healthy food.Cost of healthy food•

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge www.urbaniteproject.com4

Baltimore City Food Policy RecommendationsIn 2010, the Baltimore City Food Policy Task Force came up with the following guide-lines to work toward increasing access to healthy food in food deserts:

1. Promote and expand farmers markets2. Support community gardens and urban agriculture3. Expand supermarket home delivery program4. Develop a targeted marketing campaign to encourage healthy eating among all Baltimoreans5. Support street vending of healthy foods6. Promote and expand community supported agriculture7. Support a central kitchen model for schools8. Support research on food deserts and collaboration with policy makers9. Improve the food environment around schools and recreation centers10. Create healthy food zoning requirements or incentives

IV. Submission Guidelines

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge is open to any individual, group, organization, or company. This is a blind competition. Professional qualifications are not required; anyone with an engaging, creative, and unique idea for increasing ac-cess to healthy, affordable food in Baltimore’s food deserts is encouraged to submit a proposal.

Submissions must adhere to the following guidelines:Proposal must be mounted on a single 24” x 30” board (foam core, chipboard, • or similar material). Applicants should use a combination of text and no fewer than three images (renderings, drawings, photographs, diagrams, etc.) to convey their concept. Text must not exceed 500 words and must include as many details as possible about the project, including time frame for implementing the proposal, materials, dimensions, etc.Include names, affiliations, and a short biography of team member(s), along • with team contact email, address, and phone number, on the back of the board. This information should not be visible on the front of the board.Mail or hand-deliver board to • Urbanite 2002 Clipper Park Road, 4th Floor Baltimore, MD 21211

Urbanite’s phone number is 410-243-2050. Boards will not be returned, and propos-als may be featured in Urbanite. If you do not want your proposal to be featured in the magazine, please clearly note so on the back of your board.

By submitting a proposal, you acknowledge the possibility that your idea • may be implemented by one or more of Urbanite’s institutional partners.Proposals may, but do not have to, focus on a specific food desert area, but • they must focus on an area within the Baltimore City limits. Clearly identify the geographic location to which your proposal applies.

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge www.urbaniteproject.com 5

Include a check for $30 made out to “Urbanite, LLC” with your submission.•

Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

All questions about Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge should be sent to urbaniteproject@urbanitebaltimore.com.

V. Judgement Criteria

The Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge team intends to award appli-cants that propose innovative ideas that creatively address the barriers to healthy food listed above. To that end, proposals will be judged by a jury that represents a range of disciplines and members of the local community.

Submissions will be judged according to the following criteria:Ability to directly address one or more of the barriers to healthy food listed • in Section III.Potential to serve as a precedent for future projects in Baltimore.•

In addition:Proposals should respond to the unique environment of Baltimore City’s • food deserts.Innovative, creative, provocative, non-traditional ideas via proposals will be • given preference over simplistic and/or traditional efforts to solve this prob-lem.Proposals that incorporate one or more of Baltimore City’s Food Policy Rec-• ommendations will be given preference.Interdisciplinary proposals that combine approaches from more than one • field will be favored.

VI. Prizes

One Grand Prize winner will receive a $6,000 prize.• One First Runner-Up will receive $3,000• One Second Runner-Up will receive $2,000• One People’s Choice Winner (based on number of votes collected in person • and through online voting) will receive $1,000

Urbanite Project 2012: Healthy Food Challenge www.urbaniteproject.com6

VII. Appendix

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Frankford

Fairfield Area

Glen

Hawkins Point

Cherry Hill

Canton Industrial Area

Morrell Park

Irvington

Brooklyn

Pulaski Industrial Area

Howard Park

Canton

Roland Park

Cheswolde

Guilford

Druid Hill Park

Mount Washington

Hampden

Violetville

Belair-Edison

Lauraville

Coldspring

Homeland

Lakeland

Waltherson

Berea

Westport

Curtis Bay

Upton

Woodberry

Clifton Park

Loch Raven

Franklintown

Westfield

Allendale

Oliver

Glenham-Belhar

Montebello

Cedmont

Downtown

Overlea

Beechfield

Ten Hills

Fallstaff

Cross Country

Westgate

Ashburton

Millhill

Locust Point Industrial Area

Cedonia

West Hills

Orangeville

Kresson

Mondawmin

Riverside

MedfieldGrove Park

Hillen

Arcadia

Carroll Park

Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park

Cylburn

Wyndhurst

Park Circle

Hamilton Hills

Inner Harbor

Wakefield

Fells Point

Glen Oaks

Harlem Park

SouthBaltimore

Carroll-South Hilton

Armistead Gardens

Hopkins Bayview

CrossKeys

Holabird Industrial Park

Middle East

Uplands

Hanlon-Longwood

Woodmere

Idlewood

Broadway East

Reservoir Hill

Dolfield

Remington

Bolton Hill

Port Covington

Reisterstown Station

Carroll - Camden Industrial Area

West Forest Park

Central Park Heights

CharlesVillage

Walbrook

North Roland Park/Poplar Hill

Curtis BayIndustrial Area

Greektown

Ednor Gardens-Lakeside

Arlington

Oldtown

Dickeyville

New Northwood

Graceland Park

Mid-Govans

Better Waverly

Waverly

Barclay

Seton Business Park

Fairmont

Medford

West Arlington

North Harford Road

Sandtown-Winchester

Hunting Ridge

Pen Lucy

Poppleton

Windsor Hills

Dorchester

Loyola/Notre Dame

Perring Loch

Dundalk MarineTerminal

Rosemont

Washington Village/Pigtown

Orangeville IndustrialArea

Jones FallsArea

Rosemont East

Shipley Hill

Lake Walker

Mount Vernon

Mayfield

Mosher

The Orchards

Levindale

Seton Hill

Patterson Park

Yale Heights

EdmondsonVillage

Mt PleasantPark

Coldstream HomesteadMontebello

Abell

Greenspring

Parklane

Herring Run Park

Orchard Ridge

Carrollton Ridge

ParksideForest Park

Gwynns Falls

Taylor Heights

East Baltimore Midway

Federal Hill

Cedarcroft

Bridgeview/Greenlawn

Jonestown

Pimlico Good Neighbors

StadiumArea

Penn North

Ramblewood

MadisonPark

Otterbein

Rognel Heights

MorganState

University

Locust Point

Franklin Square

Mid-Town Belvedere

Penrose/Fayette Street Outreach

Mount Holly

Highlandtown

Callaway-Garrison

Bellona-Gittings

Wilson Park

Gay Street

Broening Manor

Saint Paul

Washington Hill

Johnston Square

CharlesNorth

Saint Josephs

Keswick

GarwynOaks

Johns HopkinsHomewood

Dunbar-Broadway

East Arlington

KenilworthPark

Penn-Fallsway

Spring GardenIndustrial Area

Patterson ParkNeighborhood

Lucille ParkOriginal

Northwood

Biddle Street

O'Donnell Heights

WymanPark

BeverlyHills

McElderry Park

Joseph Lee

Liberty Square

Moravia-Walther

Harwood

Central Forest Park

Towanda-Grantley

BaltimoreHighlands

Hollins Market

Brewers Hill

Winchester

Upper Fells Point

Sabina-Mattfeldt

Tuscany-Canterbury

Midtown-Edmondson

Hawkins Point

SaintAgnes

Chinquapin Park

Winston-Govans

Coppin Heights/Ash-Co-East

DruidHeights

FranklintownRoad

Rosebank

Blythewood

Easterwood

WoodbourneHeights

Kernewood

CameronVillage

Madison-Eastend

Butcher'sHill

HoesHeights

Ellwood Park/Monument

Oaklee

MorganParkEvergreen

Purnell

GreenmountWest

Four By Four

MountWinans

Little Italy

South Clifton Park

Burleith-Leighton

Radnor-Winston

Union Square

Lake Evesham

Oakenshawe

HeritageCrossing

GreenmountCemetery

Parkview/Woodbrook

Darley Park

SaintHelena

Forest ParkGolf Course

TremontNew Southwest/

Mount Clare

NorthwestCommunity

Action

Sharp-Leadenhall

Milton-Montford

LowerHerring

Run Park

University ofMaryland

LangstonHughes

Woodbourne-McCabe

Boyd-Booth

EvergreenLawn

Panway/BraddishAvenue

Stonewood-Pentwood-

Winston

Ridgely'sDelight

Eastwood

PerkinsHomes

PattersonPlace

Concerned Citizens ofForest Park

Belair-Parkside

RichnorSprings

BarreCircle

MiddleBranch/

ReedbirdParks

PleasantView

Gardens

Rosemont Homeowners/Tenants

Old Goucher

Edgewood

LowerEdmondson

Village

Wilhelm Park

Wrenlane

Belvedere

Evesham Park

York-Homeland

CARE

Downtown West

Villages atHomeland

2012 Baltimore City Food Environment

Food Desert*

1 inch = 1,500 feet2

N

Non-Residential^

*Food Desert: An area where the distance to a supermarket is more than ¼ mile, the median household income is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, over 40% of households have no vehicle available, and the average Healthy Food Availability Index score for supermarkets,

and corner stores is low (measured using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey). ^ Not included in study. Non-residential areas include Colleges and Universities, Hospitals, Industrial Areas, Stadiums, and Cemeteries.

Streets

Farmers Market

Virtual Supermarket

Public Market

Harbor, Lakes, & Streams

MARCH

Supermarket

Healthy Food Retail

Neighborhood Boundaries

Major Parks

convenience