Organizations in Eastern North Carolina are working to create more equitable food systems that provide ongoing opportunities for healthy food access and increasing equitable access to recreation opportunities, especially for historically marginalized communities. These groups are also helping ensure that people with low incomes and communities of color have greater leverage to influence the food system, address hunger, and create communities with recreational opportunities. These groups have worked to map out food access in Northeastern North Carolina.

To help communities in implementing these plans, the Trust is interested in supporting system change strategies for increasing access to healthy food and building a more equitable food system. For equitable access to recreation opportunities, the Trust is interested in supporting systematic efforts to increase access to recreation opportunities. This could include communications or advocacy strategies, community engagement, policy reform, coordinating across organizations and related approaches. If communities have not developed maps and action plans, then the Trust can assist with this approach as well. Competitive applications will directly engage the communities that disproportionately suffer from a lack of healthy food and recreation options.