Community Partner: Walnut Hills
Walnut Hills is located just south of Clifton and is an area in which they have a large food desert, meaning there is no grocery store within the neighborhood, requiring the community members to take a bus to the nearest Kroger in Clifton. The community is home to multiple community organization such as the Black Power Initiative who assists in distributing food throughout the neighborhood at neighborhood events and low-income housing complexes such as the Alexandria. Dr. Anna Goroncy and the Christ Hospital Family Medicine residents have been working with these organizations to assess and address the needs of the community and are leading initiatives and projects to tackle food insecurity amongst community members. Some of the current initiatives within the community include the community garden which allows community members to assist in growing their own produce and the products are distributed to community members. There is also the Friday food and fun event that occurs every week where organizations like The Black Power Initiative and La Soupe brings meals and produce to give out to community members suffering from food insecurity.
Through the Walnut Hills community, I will have ample volunteer opportunities and the ability to assess the current and future initiatives of the community. I hope to attend many of the events within the community such as gardening and the Friday Food and Fun even to get within the community and hear the members share what their needs are.
About Alexa
My name is Alexa Svoboda. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended Washington University in St. Louis for undergrad where I played varsity basketball for 2 years and majored in anthropology and biology. I graduated in 2018. I took 2 gap years before medical school where I worked at a research lab in St. Louis before moving to Cincinnati in 2020 for medical school.
I chose to do the service and advocacy elective because I was hoping to continue service work with organizations that I began working with during my first and second years of medical schooI. I believe that as physicians we have a duty to address the needs of our patients from all aspects and make a larger impact within our community.
I believe that food insecurity is a social determinant of health where we can make a big impact. During the first 2 years of medical school, I worked with in the Walnut Hills community with multiple organizations that were tackling food insecurity within our community and I am excited to get back involved with the community.