History

The Hunger to Health Collaboratory, founded by Stop & Shop leadership and Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank, was publicly launched at “The Power of Collaboration” event at the Boston Public Library. H2HC was designed as a national model for cross-sector stakeholders to collectively address the health consequences of hunger.

H2HC supported a ground-breaking study detailing the healthcare-related costs of food insecurity: “$2.4 Billion: The Avoidable Cost of Hunger in Massachusetts.” This study was the first state-based application of the methodology used by Bread for the World in its 2015 national study, "The Nourishing Effect: Ending Hunger, Improving Health, Reducing Inequality". The study reported that in 2014, hunger and food insecurity increased US health expenditures by an estimated $160 billion.

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With Chairman James McGovern (D-MA) and UMass Chan Medical School President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson, H2HC convenes “Mobilizing Healthcare for a Hunger-Free Massachusetts” on the UMass Chan Medical School campus.

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H2HC convened the “Hunger to Health Summit: Acting Together to Address Food Insecurity” featuring speakers MA Attorney General Maura Healey, Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, and other regional and national leaders.

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"Entrepreneurial Thinking in the Social Sector” at the Institute for Social Innovation at Babson College helped H2HC grantees identify and develop strategies to overcome organizational challenges and obstacles.

H2HC convened the virtual event, “Community Inequalities During COVID-19 Recovery Townhall”, with the Museum of Science.

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H2HC convened the virtual event, “Hunger to Health in COVID and Beyond: Food Policy as Health Policy”, with the Museum of Science.

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With support from H2HC, “Gaps in Food Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Massachusetts" surveyed 3,000 residents across the Commonwealth to better understand food insecurity issues and challenges.

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H2HC hired its first executive director to move the organization forward.

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With support from H2HC, The Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions at Connecticut Foodshare surveyed more than 1,000 residents and published its findings in "Food Access in Connecticut: One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic".

In partnership with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, H2HC virtually convened more than 250 participants for “The Economic and Health Impacts of Food Insecurity: The Business Community as Changemaker”.

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H2HC supported the pilot phase of a Children's HealthWatch economic mobility study designed to help 500 low-wage families move to greater stability over three years.

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H2HC established a new organizational structure that includes Leadership and Advisory Councils as well as opportunities for partnership.

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H2HC joined the Root Cause Coalition National Advisory Board.

H2HC supported the second annual statewide survey, "Opportunities to Improve Food Equity and Access Massachusetts". The study found that 1 in 3 residents in the Commonwealth are food insecure.

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H2HC was invited to join the National Task Force Informing the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Task Force released its comprehensive report "Ambitious, Actionable Recommendations to End Hunger, Advance Nutrition, and Improve Health in the United States", ahead of the historic September 2022 Conference. Many of the Task Force recommendations were incorporated into the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy, the goal of which is to end hunger, increase healthy eating, and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030.

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H2HC joined the Tufts Food and Nutrition Innovation Council within the Friedman School's Institute.

H2HC convened 75 local and national corporate, government, healthcare, and nonprofit leaders at its 2022 Fall Summit at the Museum of Science. The Summit focused on innovative work across sectors as well as next steps following the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

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Following the Fall 2022 Summit, H2HC released an event report, "The Way Forward: Learnings from the Fall 2022 Summit", as an important resource that summarized the cross-sector group’s best thinking, insights, and recommendations.

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H2HC launched a national prize-making process to identify and highlight successful and innovative efforts to address food and nutrition inequities, and advance health equity, in communities throughout the United States. In this inaugural year, H2HC awarded two $100,000 prizes. Prize recipients were announced and introduced at the H2HC Fall Summit on November 16, 2023, at WBUR CitySpace in Boston.

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H2HC hosted a discussion at Mass General Brigham in Somerville, MA, and virtually on the national landscape and select state-based challenges and successes of addressing social drivers of health (SDOH). The event featured speakers from corporate, government, healthcare, academic, and CBO sectors.

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Following its July 2023 event at the Mass General Brigham headquarters in Somerville, H2HC released its second event report, "Focus on the Social Drivers of Health: National Context and State-Based Models of Innovation", as an important resource that summarized the group's insights and recommendations around incorporating food access and nutrition services into healthcare to achieve health equity.

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H2HC convened 80+ thought leaders at WBUR CitySpace in Boston for the 2023 Fall Summit. Admiral Rachel Levine, US Assistant Secretary for Health, delivered the keynote, and panels and participants explored innovative, forward-thinking strategies and initiatives advancing food, nutrition, and health equity locally, regionally, and nationally.

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At the 2023 Fall Summit, H2HC awarded the Inaugural $100,000 Prizes for Innovation to DC Central Kitchen and Alameda County Recipe4Health in recognition of their groundbreaking work to advance food, nutrition, and health equity in their communities.

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Following the Fall 2023 Summit, H2HC released its third event report, "Building Enduring Solutions for Health Equity" which provided the cross-sector groups insights and recommendations to address the social drivers of health and advance health equity in and across their respective industries.

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The White House recognized H2HC’s commitment to award $1 million in Prizes for Innovation to support President Biden’s plan to eliminate hunger and decrease diet-related disease in the U.S. by 2030. H2HC, along with H2HC Leadership Council members Stop & Shop and The Greater Boston Food Bank, were among 141 cross-sector stakeholders from around the country involved in new commitments of almost $1.7 billion in support of The White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities.

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At the 2024 Fall Summit, H2HC convened 90 innovators and changemakers from 14 states creating solutions to food and nutrition challenges and advancing health equity nationwide.

At the Fall 2024 Summit, H2HC awarded two $100,000 Prizes for Innovation to StreetCred at Boston Medical Center and The Giving Grove for upstream, systemic work to advance health equity in the food and nutrition space.

H2HC's 2024 Fall Summit report, "Accelerating Solutions for Systemic Change," addressed the importance of creative, cross-sector partnerships to advance health equity during a time of rising costs and national leadership changes.

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