Latinx communities are disproportionately affected by COVID, other serious illnesses, and poverty. As racism continues to be a public health crisis, we’ve been working with organizations in our area to better fight for neighbors facing illness and injustice alongside those who work closest with those communities.
When Haley Higgins, Lifelong’s Bilingual Community Nutrition Educator, began looking to partner with more diverse populations for our Pots & Plans nutrition and cooking class series, she knew Roxana Garcia, Founder of Alimentando al Pueblo, would be a great partner.
Alimentando al Pueblo started in June 2020 as a popup pantry to provide culturally relevant food to the Latinx community in the Highline area of King County, where the pandemic has exacerbated health and economic inequities and racism, with higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. People from the Latinx community also have some of the highest rates of COVID infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
“Our community has been really struggling,” said Roxana. “The partnership with Lifelong has been so important because it’s helped show us how naturally healthy our food can be. It’s given our community the technical skills they need to make those healthy decisions for themselves and their families.”
To tailor the nutrition and cooking class to Latinx moms, Haley and Jessica Molina, Alimentando al Pueblo’s Program Coordinator, worked together to create culturally relevant, nutritious recipes for the six-week class, which was taught in Spanish.
“In one of our first classes, we spent a lot of time discussing sodium intake,” said Haley. “Chicken bouillon is a staple in Latinx foods, and we actually measured out how much sodium was in the chicken bouillon to show it to everyone. We all started talking about healthy substitutes so they could still enjoy their favorite recipes in a healthier way.”
After concluding Pots & Plans with Alimentando al Pueblo, the organization requested to do another advanced nutrition and cooking class series with the same group of Latinx moms to continue the learning. Every single participant of the program has reported being able to make healthier food choices, knowing how to read nutrition labels in both English and Spanish, and are more confident preparing nutritious meals as part of a balanced diet with whole grains, proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
“My kids have been interested in learning about nutrition and healthy cooking, so we’ve been doing these classes as a family and bonding over this together,” said Maria Garcia, a participant from Pots & Plans.
Pots & Plans has brought families closer to each other, adapting how they cook at home to be healthier.
“Food is a love language for us,” said Jessica. “It’s been so important for the moms, but also their families, to enjoy the healthier foods that they’re cooking. They were so concerned that their families wouldn’t like these nutritious meals, but they have, and it’s brought them so much happiness.”
Learn more about how you can partner with us for Pots & Plans in your community.