Sabine Dabady, MPH Candidate Capstone Presentation April 4, 2017 Public Housing as Incubators for Food-Centered Activities: A Policy Consideration Sabine Dabady, MPH Candidate Capstone Presentation April 4, 2017

Meet a NYCHA Gardener I’ve included this dorky photo of me and my grandmother, who tended one of over 700 New York City Housing Authority Gardens (circa 1998). I spent a lot of time in these gardens with my grandmother and am happy to be able to present a capstone that has personal relevance. The food-oriented activities of NYCHA are the inspiration for how CA may adopt policies that harness the potential in the space of public housing coupled with food-related activities to also address critical community and population level needs/inequities. The question is how does a NY context get translated in CA context?

Overview Origins and definition of public housing Public housing vs. affordable housing Why connect public housing and food/food- activities? Can we do this? Questions & comments

Primer on U.S. Public Housing Federally funded rental housing The New Deal United States Housing Act, 1937 Goal: move white middle & working class families out of poverty Department of Housing and Urban Development Public housing - rental housing managed by local housing authorities for eligible low-income families, seniors or people living with disabilities based on income limits of one’s county or metropolitan area. US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers Federal aid to local housing agencies (HAs) that manage the housing for low-income residents at rents they can afford. Primary objective : job creation through building of new structures and 2nd goal of providing decent housing -note that was successful, many of the initial residents moved out of poverty and even left bldgs., however in 1960s Source: Library of Congress

Public vs. Affordable Housing No direct assistance Tax incentives to developers Spending >30% of income on housing. ~12 million households Direct assistance to procure housing Managed by local housing authorities (LHAs) Income limits 30%-80% of median area income. ~1.2 million households Low income is 80% of area median income Very low income is 50% of area median income Extremely low income is 30% of area median income Area Median income calculated from data obtained via US Census American Community Survey Section-8 - subsidy for extremely to very low income people (dependent on the voucher they may be able to choose where they want to live Affordable Housing: Low-income Housing Tax Credit Over 50% is common Households in renters/homeowners HUD fact: “A family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.”

WHY Focus on Public Housing and Food Connection? Land Access Institutionally –anchored programming Food production Economic stimulus/job creation Key question to ask: I’ve provided an outline of public housing nationally but what is the connection to food? Firstly, what food-related activities show potential for residents of public housing have? Secondly, which is discussed in next slide is what food related needs do residents of public housing have? No. 1 Public land is the most affordable land available No.2. Power of an institution/size – note NYCHAs over 600,000 residents, 2500 buildings operated over 328 sites, 2500 acres of land day care/senior centers etc Image (L) Green City Force impact of farm: grew 1.7 tons of food there in the farm’s inaugural year Image (R) Grad of Opportunities NYCHA Additional assets of community spaces, culture sharing, civic engagement, can’t be ignored Source: NYC Community Trusts Source: Opportunities NYCHA

WHY Focus on Public Housing and Food Connection? Serving low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Chronic disease (diet and non-diet related) Food Security Food Access Equity Key question to ask is I’ve provided an outline of public housing nationally but what is the connection to food? The connection is what food related needs do residents of public housing have? Second is what food-related activities show potential for residents of public housing have? No. 1 Nationally, 89% of households receiving rental housing support are seniors, families, people w/disabilities In NY it’s 85%, CA, 90% (Source is Center for Budget and Policy Priorities) (Note individuals and families eligible for Medicaid/CHIP (child health insurance program) No. 2 & No 3. SNAP, children free/reduced breakfast & lunch, some for TANF aka welfare. Public housing recreational centers often sites for seniors and young people to receive meals, during school year and summer (affordable, high quality, and culturally prefered food, for populations with high population with reduced mobility, close proximity is critical) Activities connected to this: Community Gardens Urban Farms Rooftop Farms Farmer’s Markets/Produce Stands Farm to Institution purchasing programs Healthy bodegas Mobile Vending (passed in March in Oakland) Zoning to encourage supermarkets Biz Incubators Work force development

CA & NY Households Federal Rental Assistance Public housing: CA 225,200 NY housing choice voucher 303,200 CA housing choice voucher 202,500 NY Public Housing 28, 700 CA public housing The issue of scale is not comparable in any way. The same density and hub like activity in NY are not replicable in the same way in CA Housing Authorities method for governing for example gardens is not uniform. Hard to know exact number of gardens, not permitted everywhere Next steps are to shift the lens that I’m thinking from. NYCHA can only offer programmatic elements and not modes of doing this work. Focus on programmatic work and how that can potentially be expanded.

Study Bonanza Crew Graham Gardner Dr. Barbara Laraia Dr. Lia Fernald Carol Hui Rob Bennaton

Additional thoughts? Email sad01@berkeley.edu