Transforming the Urban Food Desert From the Grassroots Up A Model for Community Change

Confronted by continuing health disparities m vulnerable communities, Community Health Councils (CHC), a nonprofit community based organization in South Los Angeles worked with the African Americans Building a Legacy of Health Coalition and research partners to develop a community change model to address the root causes of health disparities within the community s African American population This article discusses how the CHC Model s development and application led to public policy interventions in a food desert The CHC Model provided a systematic approach to engaging impacted communities in support of societal level reforms, with the goal to influence health outcomes