Chef, Food Advocate Team Up to Serve Free, No-Questions-Asked Red Beans and Rice


Jenn Yates and David Guas

Jenn Yates is an advocate who usually pushes for healthier school food in Arlington, Virginia (15.8% Latino). David Guas is a chef who usually is feeding people. These days, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Yates and Guas are a dynamic duo that provides free meals to vulnerable families to prevent hunger while schools and restaurants are closed. And, thanks to the advocate and the chef, red beans and rice are feeding thousands. May 5 UPDATE: The Chefs Feeding Families initiative has provided 18,000 meals to families across the DC metro area. Yates, the Advocate, Understands the Importance of Food Assistance Programs Yates grew up in a low-income, working family. She said she is grateful for food assistance programs like free meals at schools. “I got school meals as a kid,” ...

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Coronavirus Is Worsening Food Insecurity for Latino, Other Families


food security during coronavirus

The coronavirus outbreak is making it harder for Latino and other families to get enough food to feed their families, a condition also called food insecurity. People are stocking up on groceries and buying online in hopes of hunkering down and limiting social interactions, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. But families who rely on nutrition aid can’t stock up. They also can’t buy online. With many schools and farmer’s markets also closing, many families are struggling to replace school meals at home for their children. This is especially impacting Latino and black households, who are more likely to suffer food insecurity (16.2% and 21.2%, respectively) than the national average (11.1%). SNAP Benefits Not Adapting to Coronavirus Crisis As many families are piling up ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/31: Safe Routes to Healthy Food—Why & How


safe-routes-healthy-food-farmers-market-crosswalk-tweetchat

Everyone deserves a safe and reliable way to get to healthy food—whether a supermarket, farmers market, or food bank. Without nearby grocery stores, people must travel further or rely on corner stores, which often sell food that is poorer in quality and more expensive, and without crosswalks, sidewalks, and bike lanes, people walking and biking are at increased risk of injury or death. The Safe Routes National Partnership released a new report with policy implications, opportunities, and recommendations to help you advance safe routes to healthy food in your community. Let’s use #SaludTues on March 31, 2020, to tweet about the problem, opportunities, and policy recommendations to improve access to healthy foods, particularly for people without cars.   WHAT: #SaludTues ...

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9 Big Actions for Safe Routes to Healthy Food


bus at grocery store

Everyone deserves a safe and reliable way to get to healthy food—whether a supermarket, corner store, food bank, farmers market, or community garden. Unfortunately, many Latinos and people in low-income communities, rural communities, and communities of color are disproportionately burdened by long and unreliable commutes, as well as unsafe routes to nutritious food. That’s why the Safe Routes to Healthy Food Task Force worked for two years to refine the concept of safe routes to healthy food. Now they’ve released a new report with policy implications, opportunities, and recommendations. “This collaboration demonstrated that improving access to healthy foods for people without cars can be improved by a variety of sectors, including: transportation, healthy food access, ...

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SNAP’s Online Grocery Program Provides Healthy Food


Online food shopping SNAP Latinos

Food deserts cause countless American families to struggle with access to nutritious, healthy meals. While this issue is pervasive, government agencies are trying to make progress in this issue with novel approaches — using the ever-growing technological landscape. In 2014, the Farm Bill passed by congress introduced an Online Purchase Pilot (OPP) that gave beneficiaries an option to use SNAP to purchase groceries online for delivery. A recent study out of Yale University found this program has the potential to help those families who live in areas that lack access to fresh foods and produce. "For individuals using SNAP, there's been a lot of bad rap about the quality of food that they purchase, and there's not been a lot of focus on trying to support individuals getting ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 21: “Dietary Discrimination”


STE21 Healthy Food Desert Access

Food insecurity is an issue gripping American families—including those in the Latino community—across the country. These individuals, who live in what experts call food deserts, can lack access to healthy, nutritious meals. Dwayne Wharton, an Independent Consultant with Dwayne Wharton & Partners and the former Director Of External Affairs at The Food Trust, joins Salud Talks to discuss this issue and what progress is needed to ensure Latinos and all Americans have access to healthy foods. Check out this discussion on the Salud Talks Podcast, Episode 21, "Dietary Discrimination"!  WHAT: A #SaludTalks discussion about widespread food insecurity impacting countless Latino and all American families GUEST: Dwayne Wharton, an Independent Consultant with Dwayne ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 19: “Peddling Poison”


Salud Talks Sugary Drinks One Web

When was the last time you drank soda, juice, or other forms of sugary drinks? For most Americans, it is a normal part of everyday life. The problem? These drinks are incredibly unhealthy, more so than some companies would lead consumers to believe, according to Xavier Morales, executive director of The Praxis Project, and Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America. Check out this discussion on the Salud Talks Podcast, Episode 19, "Peddling Poison"! WHAT: A #SaludTalks discussion about sugary drinks and their harmful impacts on consumers GUESTS: Xavier Morales, executive director of The Praxis Project, and Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America WHERE: Available wherever fine podcasts are downloaded, including Apple Podcasts, ...

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Comment Now: USDA to Roll Back School Food Nutrition Standards


latino kids in a school food lunch line

School food nutrition is at risk again. The USDA, which relaxed school nutrition standards in 2018, is proposing two rule changes it says will give schools and summer programs more flexibility to meet student meal preferences and reduce food waste. But health experts warn this will roll back progress on school food nutrition. Schools could, for instance, cut breakfast fruit by a half-cup. Fries and burgers could be served a la carte. Pasta could count as a vegetable. This is a longer-term health threat than the coronavirus pandemic, according to Healthy Eating Research. "This would create a huge loophole in school nutrition guidelines, paving the way for children to choose pizza, burgers, French fries, and other foods high in calories, saturated fat or sodium in place of ...

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5 Ways to Build Healthier Food Systems


Sustainable food systems

The future of humanity depends on building healthier food systems. Why? Because our current food and farming systems make us sick in these ways: Unhealthy working conditions Contaminants in the water, soil, or air Specific foods are unsafe for consumption Unhealthy diets Lack of access to adequate, acceptable food That is why the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES Food) published a report to identify five leverage points for building healthier food systems. 1. Promote Food Systems Thinking It’s time to overcome political and scientific silos. It’s time to reconnect people with the realities of the food on their plates. The way food impacts health isn’t an isolated event. We need to promote “food system thinking” ...

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