LA Food Policy Council: Revitalizing L.A. with the Healthy Neighborhood Markets Network
LAFPC's Healthy Neighborhood Markets Network is on a mission to turn local neighborhood markets and corner stores into vibrant hubs of health and wellness in areas known to be food deserts in Los Angeles County. These aren't new stores. They're existing markets being renovated to carry fresh produce and healthy options alongside what they already sell. LAFPC brought me in to build the brands that would help each one show up for their community.
Three stores. Three neighborhoods. Three brands from scratch.
Process & Challenge
The challenge across all three was the same: make healthy food feel like something to celebrate, not a social service. These communities already have corner stores. The goal was to give those stores an identity that reflected the people in them, something that felt like it belonged there, not like it was dropped in from the outside.
Each brand needed to be distinct to its store and neighborhood while carrying the same underlying energy: community pride, accessibility, and a sense that good food is something you deserve, not something you have to earn.
I managed a designer through the development of all three identities, working with LAFPC's program directors who liaised with the store owners throughout. Every brand was approved with enthusiasm.
Approach
The challenge across all three was the same: make healthy food feel like something to celebrate, not a social service. These communities already have corner stores. The goal was to give those stores an identity that reflected the people in them, something that felt like it belonged there, not like it was dropped in from the outside.
Each brand needed to be distinct to its store and neighborhood while carrying the same underlying energy: community pride, accessibility, and a sense that good food is something you deserve, not something you have to earn.
I managed a designer through the development of all three identities, working with LAFPC's program directors who liaised with the store owners throughout. Every brand was approved with enthusiasm.
Campaign
Content & Blog
Events & Community
Final Deliverables
Outcome
All three brand systems were delivered and approved. The work gave each market a visual identity that matched the ambition of the program: community-rooted, approachable, and built to make people feel good about where they shop.
The process also produced something beyond the deliverables. We developed a menu-style lookbook of design options organized by budget, so future stores in the program could make decisions faster and more confidently without starting from scratch every time. The groundwork was already laid.