The Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness Alliance (PUFFA) Shapes Up Two Community’s Spaces, Ideas and Bodies

Abstract

Summary

The innovative work of the Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness Alliance (PUFFA) focuses on connecting young people with the need to improve access to healthy foods and play spaces and to provide them with the skills they need to become successful policy advocates (Health Promotion Council 2010). PUFFA’s innovative engagement of youth from low-income communities has created new young proponents of nutrition. PUFFA staff follow the young people’s lead in creating a unique social network though “edutainment” means, including YouTube video sharing, text messages, Facebook, Twitter and more. These tools, along with positive peer and adult modeling, connect participants to their communities and prepare them to advocate for food system changes. Vanessa Briggs, HPC’s executive director, described the program goals “as a process of incorporating community voices and fostering partnerships with organizations that can lend expertise, training and technical assistance. The key is breaking down racial and cultural barriers,, which leads to awareness and food systems change.”