The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Human Services has deployed an $850,000 grant to Cincinnati Children’s and several community partners to address food insecurity and reduce gun violence.

The program will create a network of food resource hubs and urban farms in high-risk neighborhoods, and is designed to specifically engage three vulnerable populations:

• Gun violence survivors
• System-involved youth
• Public school students

“Food is the most fundamental thing we have, and lack of access to food very rapidly leads to deteriorating communities,” said City Manager Sheryl Long. “While it may not be obvious, there’s a direct connection between experiencing food insecurity and experiencing gun violence—either as a victim or a perpetrator.”

Dr. Carley Riley, a Cincinnati Children’s pediatrician who is steward of Community Systems Science with the health system’s Michael Fisher Child Health Equity Center, noted that the System to Achieve Food Equity network (SAFE) has committed to improving nutrition security in the region since 2020.

“We have now grown into a community-based, cross-sector network of over 350 individuals and more than 130 organizations,” Dr. Riley said. “By partnering with ACT for Cincy, a city of Cincinnati initiative that builds on a public health approach to violence prevention, both organizations will be able to together address one of the root causes of the complex problem of violence – while helping to make our neighborhoods safe and vibrant through community well-being and providing sustainable access to food and opportunity.”

Three neighborhood hubs will be established in the first year, in Avondale, East Price Hill, and the West End. Hubs will offer food, connection to other services, and opportunities for community building. In addition to establishing the hubs, the Impact Award will fund numerous urban farming operations; partners expect to grow tens of thousands of pounds of produce and create jobs for neighborhood residents. Funded partners include:

Closing the Health Gap	Findlay Market
Feed the Soul	Greater Cincinnati Resilience Coalition
Green Umbrella	Isaiah 55, Inc.
La Soupe	Lord’s Gym
Urban Farming Initiative	Verge Monarch
Love in Action	Produce Rx
Whole Again

Funded by the city’s general fund, the grant is the second Impact Award, a human services program created by City Council in 2024 to tackle systemic problems.

For more information about ACT for Cincy, click here.