The Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness(BCFF) is a city-wide partnership working to improve community health through a comprehensive initiative addressing issues related to food and fitness. Our commitment to racial equity is the foundation for our core strategies. The Collaborative is comprised of dynamic individuals representing a diverse group of sectors, including healthcare, government, education, youth development, food systems, social services and residents.

Our Vision
The Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness (BCFF) envisions a city where community demand for affordable, locally grown and healthy foods is met by a state and region where farming is a strong and viable activity, so that farmers are able to provide affordable, locally grown, and healthy foods to all residents in all neighborhoods of Boston.

We envision a city with easy access to safe and appropriate play spaces for all children; a city where physical activity is integrated into the daily lives of residents and where youth are civically engaged and understand the connection between healthy food, physical activity and good health.

We envision a city with an extraordinary quality of life for all people in Boston, achieved through citizens’ advocacy, relationship-building and leadership, creating a legacy of healthy, civically-engaged people.

Our Mission
Transform Boston so that every resident can access and afford healthy, locally-grown food and enjoy public spaces and opportunities for active living.

Our History
In the summer 2006, the Collaborative came together in response to a growing interest by various organizations in developing partnerships to address disparities in access to food and fitness opportunities in Boston. The group was able to take advantage of the opportunity to respond to Kellogg’s invitation to apply for a Food and Fitness grant. In April 2007, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded the Collaborative a two-year planning grant. 

During this planning period, the Collaborative was charged with assessing the community’s needs and resources in the areas of food and fitness and developing a work plan to submit to the Kellogg Foundation for an implementation phase. This plan was submitted to the Kellogg Foundation in the summer of 2009 and the BCFF was awarded $1.2 million dollars over three years to implement its community action plan.

Our City and Communities
BCFF serves the city of over 580,000 with a particular focus on Black and Latino children, youth and families, who experience the greatest burden of health inequities related to chronic disease. The largest city in New England,  has a population of nearly 600,000. Fewer than half of residents are White (49.5%), followed by Blacks (23.4%), Hispanics (14.4%) and Asians (7.5%). Increasingly a city of immigrants, 28% of the population is now foreign born. Median income is $39,629 (versus $50,502 statewide) and 19.5% of residents live below the poverty line, more than double the statewide rate.

In the Boston Public Schools, the citywide district with 56,000 students that will be a key BCFF focus, the student population is predominately Black (39%) and Latino (37%); 72% of students are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals.

The two neighborhoods that are BCFF’s initial focus reflects diversity. Located in a compact peninsula on the ocean and accessible by tunnel under Boston Harbor, East Boston (population 38,413) has Boston’s highest percentage (44%) of immigrants, including from El Salvador, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. East Boston is home to largest Latino community, comprising 39% of residents. Mattapan (population 19,724) is a vibrant neighborhood in southern section of predominately Black (83%) and Latino (7%) residents, including the state’s largest Haitian community. Nearly one-half of residents were born in Caribbean countries including Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad.

The disproportionate burden of chronic disease and its risk factors on Blacks and Latinos is significant. Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes rates for Black (10.5%) residents are more than twice those of the city’s White residents (4.5%). Diabetes is now the fifth leading cause of death for Black residents. Cardiovascular disease: Black and Latino residents experience similarly high rates of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease. ’s Black residents died of cardiovascular disease and stroke at higher rates than White residents. Obesity/overweight: Among adults, 66% of Black residents and 58% of Latino residents are overweight or obese, compared to 48% of White residents. BMI data from Boston Public Schools (2005-2006) shows that 27% of students were obese, and another 19% were overweight – for a total of 46% at unhealthy weight, a prevalence 56% higher than the national average. High blood pressure: Black residents report high blood pressure at a substantially higher rate (26.6%) than White residents (20.2%). Physical activity: 66% of Black residents and 64% of Latino residents report inadequate physical activity compared to 46% of White residents. Among public high school students, 54% of Black students and 57% of Latino students report inadequate physical activity, compared to 31% of White students.