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Stacy Cantu-Pawlik

Stacy Cantu completed both her BS & MPH at Texas A&M University (gig ‘em!), and is passionate about all things public health. She curates content on Healthy Food and Healthy Minds.


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Articles by Stacy Cantu-Pawlik

Dr. Rogelio Saenz: Using Data to Fight Racism, Push for Health Equity


Rogelio Saenz demographer and Latino health equity advocate at UTSA 2

Dr. Rogelio Sáenz is no stranger to health inequity. Growing up along the Texas-Mexico border, he saw Latino families ripped apart by poverty, plagued by systemic bias and racism, struggling to get the healthcare they needed—yet facing a mostly white leadership not ready for change. Sáenz' own grandfather worked as a janitor for a local electric co-op. He couldn't advance in the job due to extreme racism. He had to take side jobs to make extra money for his family. As a child, Sáenz himself experienced racism in the classroom. He continuously got in trouble for speaking Spanish. He also could not hang out with his white friend outside of class. “My white classmate invited me to his house. But then he [his classmate] came back and said, 'Never mind, my parents said no ...

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Kids Start School Food Pantry on Texas-Mexico Border



High-schoolers Samantha Almaraz and Pablo Ramirez see many classmates who struggle with hunger and poverty in the 85% Latino border town of McAllen, Texas. They wanted to help. So Samantha and Pablo, 10th-graders at Lamar Academy, started a school food pantry by working with their parents, school leaders, and using the Salud America! “School Food Pantry Action Pack” as a guide for their efforts. With their pantry, called the Energy Bar, they store leftover food from the cafeteria and distribute it to hungry students. "We're surrounded by people who are hungry and that don't get food,” said Samantha, who with Pablo is in the International Baccalaureate program at Lamar in McAllen ISD. "They tell us, ‘I don't have food waiting for me at home.’” The Energy Bar ...

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Comment to Protect SNAP for 1 Million School Children


kids in cafeteria eating food protect SNAP from cuts

Days after Salud America! members helped flood USDA with comments to protect the SNAP food assistance program, the comment period has reopened after a controversial new report. Comments now can be submitted until Nov. 1, 2019. The reopened comment period comes after a surprise release of USDA data that advocates say underscores the deep harm of its proposed rule to limit access to the SNAP. The change would eliminate food assistance for 3.1 million people and jeopardize free school meals for nearly 1 million kids, according to the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “Even for those who remain eligible, forcing low-income families to navigate the burdensome paperwork will inevitably lead to eligible children losing access to a critical source of daily nutrition,” said ...

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Study: Nashville Latinos are Four Times Less Likely to Have Health Insurance


Latina doctor and patient hospital

In Nashville (10.4% Latino), Latinos are one of the city’s largest minority groups. Yet, they are more than four times as likely to not have health insurance than their white or black neighbors, according to a survey by city officials and NashvilleHealth, a local nonprofit. “Doctor visits and health insurance are simply out of reach for many Latino families, who struggle with poverty, transportation and language barriers,” officials from two local Latino organizations told The Tennessean. This is even worse for immigrants who do not have proper documentation and do not qualify for TennCare, the state Medicaid. More on the Survey The Nashville Community Health + Well-being survey revealed that one-third of Latinos don’t have insurance and more than half do not have a ...

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Medical Debt Plagues Texans of Color


medical debt collection via NPR

Texas Latinos and other communities of color are among the hardest hit by medical debt, according to a new report. The report, from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, shows that 1 in 4 Texans (23%) has medical debt. In communities of color, that rises to nearly 1 in 3 Texans (29%). These rates are higher than in other states and the nation. "When people can’t pay their medical bills, costs turn into mounting medical debt," according to the report. "[This medical debt] compromises patients’ health and financial security, harms their credit scores, and can even limit a patient’s housing, job, and health opportunities." Alarming Medical Debt among Texans of Color The median medical debt in collections owed in Texas is $850. Texans of color owe slightly more at $875. ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 10/22: Liver Awareness Month



October is Liver Awareness Month! Liver cancer is continuously on the rise, especially among Latinos. In South Texas specifically, Latinos have the highest rate in the nation. When it comes to hepatitis C, the number of U.S. Latinos with hepatitis C (2.6%) is higher than the number of overall people with hepatitis C (1.3%). Hepatitis C disease progression has also shown to be faster in Latinos than in Whites. Furthermore, the most common risk factor for liver cancer is long-term infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. These infections can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and are directly responsible for making liver cancer the most common cancer in many parts of the world. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, otherwise known as NASH, is another ...

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SNAP: Speak Up Against the Never-Ending Attack!


snap hunger hungry food insecurity

SNAP is in danger of getting cut, again! In its third proposed cut in 10 months, the Trump Administration wants to change how USDA calculates heating and cooling costs when it comes to SNAP benfits. This would cut program benefits by $4.5 billion over five years, and trim monthly benefits by as much as $75 for 1 in 5 families on SNAP. Almost 8,000 households would lose SNAP benefits entirely, according to The New York Times. “If the three proposals become final and are implemented, millions of SNAP participants will have their benefits reduced or cut altogether — particularly seniors, people with disabilities and working families — and 500,000 children will lose access to school meals,” Kate Leone, of advocacy group Feeding America, told The Times. The USDA is asking ...

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Salud America! Members Flood USDA with Comments to Protect SNAP!


SNAP federal food assistance protect poverty

Members of the Salud America! network contributed to more than 75,000 comments that were submitted to regulations.gov urging the Trump Administration to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Over 1,650 people visited Salud America!'s take-action page for SNAP comments which contributed to overall comment numbers. The current rule “helps poor working families accumulate modest assets for a rainy day,” Lisa Davis, the senior vice president of No Kid Hungry, told The New York Times. Additionally, governors, mayors, attorneys general, state delegations, teachers, and pediatricians also filed comments with the USDA. These statements overwhelmingly oppose the Trump administration’s recommended rule to limit eligibility for food stamps — and cut millions from ...

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Business Funding Bias: Another Obstacle for Latinos


Latino business funding

Latino-owned businesses struggle with bias and racism when it comes to securing financing, according to a report published by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI). The State of Latino Entrepreneurship report examines national trends underlying Latino business growth. Lack of business funding—due to bias—is the report's prime concern. “It’s easy to slip into the notion that everyone is a racist, and that’s wrong,” said Jerry I. Porras, who leads the SLEI at Stanford Graduate School of Business, in a press release. “But there’s a lot of unconscious racial bias — not intended, if you will, but a product of our socialization. Over time, if you’re able to recognize how this bias is creeping into our culture, you can consciously make the ...

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