Good LA Launch

Date posted: April 9, 2011

April 2011: East LA Market Makeovers @ GOOD LA Launch, Atwater Crossing, Atwater Village, CA

GOOD LA Launch

On Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the launch of GOOD LA, students from the East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy (ELARA) at Esteban Torres High School took the stage with Public Matters’ Mike Blockstein to talk about their efforts to transform the East LA food landscape through Market Makeovers. Students shared personal consequences of an unhealthy diet and chronic lack of access to affordable, quality produce and presented the three “HAVE YOU NOTICED?” videos they created to increase public awareness about this issue.

Many thanks to the incredible folks at GOOD Magazine for spreading the word about the work in East LA!

South LA Needs Better Grocery Stores – Public Matters and Healthy Eating Active Communities Initiative partner to empower change

Date posted: June 30, 2009

South Los Angeles has few big markets, small stores stock old produce, and numerous safety and transportation issues hurt access to healthy foods. The area has some of the highest rates of obesity in California.

In 2007 the Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative originally commissioned Public Matters to work with high school students from The Accelerated School (TAS) to create short videos about the reasons underlying poor access to fresh produce and nutritious foods in South L.A. Public Matters expanded the scope of the project to include youth civic engagement projects and a partnership with the City Council office.

For the second Market Makever, HEAC Change Agents Britanni Dighero and Josue Moreno receive their next assignment: a market makeover on Los Compadres, a market across the street from their school.

View MMTV Mission #2: Los Compadres Market

Check out the Grand Re-Opening in December 2008

Turning your gas 'n sip into a place to buy fruits and vegetables

Date posted:

Healthy Eating Active Communities Initiative student Magali Bravo initiated the conversion of the first South L.A. store, owned by her godfather, to stock healthier food choices. This “market makeover” serves as a model for other local stores and helped lay the foundation for Public Matters and South L.A. HEAC’s work on marketmakeovers.org.

[vimeo 760868]

On her way to school everyday, HEAC student Magali Bravo sees few healthy choices, store after store. This video shows that with a little elbow grease and a lot of determination, a neighborhood can grow their healthy food options – one corner store at a time.