Unity Parkside: A Taste of African Heritage Pilot
by LaShell Staples
This summer, the CAUSES Center for Nutrition, Diet and
Health (CNDH) piloted a new nutrition curriculum specifically designed for
African-Americans and descendants of Africans across the diaspora. A Taste of African Heritage is a program
established by Oldways, a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization. The
program introduces a six-week curriculum that focuses on nutrition education,
traditional African heritage foods and cultural history.
The purpose of the program is to reduce health disparities
by reconnecting African-Americans to the history, culture and foodways of their
African ancestors. Moreover, the program’s foundation lies in the extensive
research conducted by physicians, dietitians, and historians and evidence-based
eating model – the African Heritage Pyramid - an evidence-based eating model
that serves as a guide to teach healthy cooking using traditional foods that
are familiar to African-Americans.
CNDH piloted the A
Taste of African Heritage curriculum in partnership with Unity Healthcare’s
Parkside WeCan! Initiative in the District’s Ward 7 with 16 participants. Many
of whom were diagnosed with Type II diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol, enrolled
in the CNDH pilot and attended six nutrition classes. They completed the A
Taste of African Heritage classes over the course of three months. The
participants learned about the history of traditional African heritage cuisines
while being reintroduced to natural foods formerly enjoyed by their ancestors. They
also learned about the negative impacts of increased sodium and sugar
consumption and how to prepare delicious plant-based meals using whole grains,
vegetables, fruits and spices that derived from Africa, South America, and the
Caribbean. The participants observed cooking demonstrations and eventually
began to prepare the recipes on their own.
The classes encouraged them to explore their family histories, prepare
more meals at home, and share the
program materials with their family members and friends.
The A Taste of Heritage class program proved itself to be a very
successful and effective pilot for both Unity Healthcare and CNDH. Program
outcomes revealed increased fruit, vegetable and whole grain consumption among
participants and a decrease in health risks, as a majority of the participants
experienced weight loss and normalized blood glucose and blood pressure levels.
The effectiveness of the classes was also evidenced by remarkable lifestyle
changes observed during the program.
For example, a few participants
began adopting a part-time, plant-based lifestyle, where “Meatless Mondays”
were incorporated into their weekly meal planning efforts. Other participants used
African heritage spices to prepare meals and refrained from using from
preparing meals with salt or sodium-rich seasonings. As class graduation
approached, many participants were reluctant to end the program because they
had so much fun. They left the A Taste of African Heritage classes feeling encouraged by their
results, more confident in their futures, and eager to continue eating
healthy.
Following the success of the A Taste of African Heritage pilot at
Unity Healthcare Parkside, CNDH presented the program to the DC Department of Health SNAP-Ed team and received positive feedback. Dr. Lillie Monroe-Lord, Director of the Center
for Nutrition, Diet and Health and the CNDH team are currently identifying strategies for expanding the A Taste of
African Heritage program across multiple community partnerships, with plans
of establishing it as part of CNDH’s core nutrition education offerings.
Harris Trobman joins CAUSES
The Urban Food Hubs
Solution to Food Security has been selected for the National Innovation Showcase at the National Extension Directors and Administrators meeting held this October in St.
Louis, Missouri. The concept was
selected as the result of a highly competitive process.
The Urban Food Hubs Solution to Food Security was also one of four national entries selected for the Cooperative
Extension Innovation Twitter Town Hall. Directed by the
USDA Communications and Marketing Committee partners at kglobal, this fast-paced event will be held 9:15-10:00 a.m. Central on Wednesday, October 14. We encourage you to follow along and join us at @UDC_CAUSES!
