Saint Francis Hospital Awarded $275,000 Grant to Advance Health and Racial Equality Through Healthy Bodega Initiative

The grant from the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation will help local bodegas in North Hartford increase their capacity to source and sell fresh, nutritious foods. 

The funding will launch the Healthy Bodega Small Business Support Pilot Program, an innovative initiative developed through the Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) – North Hartford Collaborative, led by Saint Francis, Trinity Health, the YWCA Hartford Region and other community partners. The program seeks to transform the neighborhood food landscape by helping local bodegas increase their capacity to source and sell fresh, nutritious and culturally relevant foods while strengthening small businesses that serve as trusted community anchors.

“Access to healthy food is fundamental to good health,” said Carolyn Alessi, Regional Director, Community Health and Well-Being, Trinity Health Of New England. “This investment will help us build on the strengths that already exist in North Hartford by supporting neighborhood business owners, connecting community resources and creating sustainable opportunities for residents to access healthier food options closer to home.”

North Hartford residents face longstanding barriers to healthy food access, with many neighborhoods considered “food swamps,” where unhealthy food choices significantly outnumber healthy alternatives. Through the Healthy Bodega Small Business Support Pilot Program, Saint Francis and community partners will work to address these challenges by helping participating bodegas expand healthy food offerings, develop sustainable business practices, connect with local growers and distributors and provide nutrition education opportunities for residents.

The initiative reflects the resident-led approach of TCI, which engages community members in identifying priorities and designing solutions that address the root causes of health inequities. Through extensive resident outreach and community engagement, increasing access to healthy foods emerged as a key strategy for improving health outcomes and quality of life in North Hartford.

Through the pilot program, Saint Francis and the TCI-North Hartford Collaborative aim to leverage and connect community assets that often operate independently, creating a coordinated ecosystem that supports residents’ most pressing health priorities while strengthening the local food economy.

The grant builds on Trinity Health’s four-year, $1.2 million TCI investment in Hartford, along with a local 10 percent matching commitment from Saint Francis. Together, those investments have brought residents, community organizations, health care providers and other stakeholders together to develop innovative, community-driven solutions to improve health and well-being in North Hartford.

“We are grateful to Greater Hartford Gives Foundation for partnering with us to advance this important work,” said Tim Stanton, Vice President, Philanthropy, Trinity Health Of New England. “This grant will help turn a resident-generated vision into action while creating a model that can inform future efforts to improve food access, support small business and promote health equity across our community.”