The Connection, Health, and Equity through Food (CHEF) Program

What was the CHEF Program?

The CHEF Program was a one year special-focus project that developed a collaborative network of organizations and volunteer initiatives across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Eastern Massachusetts, and Upstate New York that are focused on increasing older adults’ equitable access to healthy food and social connection. Thanks to the generous one-time funding from Hannaford Supermarkets, the CHEF Program successfully distributed 2 rounds of mini-grants to organizations throughout the network, and developed a highly engaged regional learning collaborative. Read on to learn more!

The CHEF Grant Program

Under the banner of Hannaford’s “Eat Well. Be Well. – A Path to Better Health” initiative, the CHEF Grant Program funded organizations and projects supporting the needs of diverse older adults, including improving equitable access to food, and increasing opportunities for socialization.

The Connection, Health, & Equity through Food (CHEF) grants allowed awardees to make investments in programmatic infrastructure, sustainably expand current programming and/or launch innovative, new programming that supports the food and social connection needs of older people. Priority was given to projects and programs that serve diverse older people, veterans, and older people living with disabilities. Funds were also used to help find solutions to the root causes of food insecurity and social isolation, including but not limited to poverty, transportation, rurality, and language barriers.

The CHEF Grants Program is now concluded and there will not be another funding cycle.

Maine Council on Aging Awards Nearly $376,000 in Grants through Hannaford Supermarkets’ CHEF Program

Benefiting nearly 236,000 older people across five states

Thanks to a $1.3 million grant from Hannaford Supermarkets, the Maine Council on Aging (MCOA) announced today that nearly $376,000 has been awarded to more than 50 organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York through the first micro-grant cycle of the Connection, Health and Equity Through Food (CHEF) Program. This vital funding will improve older people’s access to food and social connection across the region, benefiting nearly 236,000 people.

Read the news release.

Read the complete list of the first round of CHEF grant recipients.

Regional Learning Collaborative

Through monthly webinars and virtual cross-border collaborative conversations, the CHEF Program focused on equity while sharing best practices and creative solutions to:

Increase older people’s access to quality and culturally appropriate food and nutrition, particularly in rural areas of the region
Promote healthy eating later in life, especially if cooking is a challenge
Keep older people connected to others and to their communities, especially when they’re experiencing challenges with transportation, dementia, caregiving, or poverty
Use technology to increase access to food, socialization, and services
Address the root causes of food insecurity and social isolation

CHEF Program partners learned how to replicate and sustain these practices in their communities through this programming. Visit our Vimeo Channel to view the CHEF webinar archives.

A Focus on Equity

The CHEF Program encompassed a specific focus on supporting older people who experience additional systemic barriers to accessing food and socialization.