Step 1: Identify the Need

Community champions help bring priorities to light through conversation and observation.

Identifying a need means naming something that makes it harder for people to eat well, access healthy food, or be physically active. You can uncover needs by observing your community, having conversations, and listening to what people care about.

A strong community need should:

1. Support healthy eating, food access, or physical activity

Think about how the need connects to healthier food or opportunities to be active. For example, limited produce options at a local store or a lack of safe places to walk may signal an opportunity for improvement.

Ask:

What challenge or opportunity do you see that relates to eating well or being active?
If you could dream big and anything was possible, what would you change or improve?

2. Affect many people

A strong need should impact more than one person. Look for patterns or issues that several parents, students, staff members, or neighbors experience. If the need affects a group, it is more likely to create meaningful, lasting change.

3. Reflect community voices

Talk with staff, partners, community members, and program participants to understand what people are experiencing. Listening helps you learn why the need matters and what the benefits could be.

Open‑ended questions help people share more about their goals and challenges. They also build trust and help you understand the issue in their own words.

Examples of open‑ended questions:

If things were working really well, what would that look like?
What are your goals related to nourishing food and physical activity?
What’s getting in the way of reaching these goals?
What’s already going well that we can build on?
What opportunities do you see for change?

4. Name the place or setting

Be clear about the space where change can happen. This could be a school, neighborhood park, food pantry, community garden, childcare center, workplace, or another local setting.

The clearer you are about what will change and where it will happen, the easier it is to understand the need and support the effort.

Ask yourself: