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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2011
Contact:
Kathy Mimberg
(202) 776-1714
kmimberg@nclr.org
Project portrays Hispanic families’ struggles to provide children with healthy food
Washington, D.C.—Recounting their efforts to put healthy food on the table, families in Idaho, Texas, and the District of Columbia opened a personal window for NCLR (National Council of La Raza) experts to explore the obstacles that Latino parents face in trying to provide nutritious meals for their children. In documenting these conversations, NCLR concluded that many Hispanic parents put fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains at the top of their grocery lists but—for reasons such as accessibility, cost, time, and transportation—they cannot count on providing their children with these healthy staples every day.
“Latinos make up the largest share of children living in hunger in the United States. At the same time, nearly two-fifths of them are overweight or obese,” said Kara Ryan, Senior Research Analyst for NCLR’s Health Policy Project, and author of the report. “These are alarming and unacceptable problems that can be addressed by taking a more comprehensive policy approach to the child nutrition crisis. How can we as a nation allow hunger and poor nutrition to dim the bright futures of our young people?”
Nearly 40 percent of Latino children are overweight or obese. Out of the one million children in the United States who are hungry, 40 percent are Hispanic. With Comer Bien: The Challenges of Nourishing Latino Children and Families, NCLR emphasizes that there are multiple, concurrent factors that contribute to both problems. Families suffering from food insecurity are less likely to be able to access affordable, healthy foods, so their children often go hungry or eat meals of cheaper but less nutritious foods. Hispanic parents describe their experiences in a short documentary film and booklet as well as in a series of video vignettes that will be distributed weekly for 10 weeks.
Key findings based on NCLR experts’ interviews with families in Caldwell, Idaho; El Paso, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and the District of Columbia are:
- Insufficient household income prevents families from eating well. Some Latino parents and grandparents suffer from job insecurity, cyclical unemployment, cutbacks due to the economic downturn, and fixed incomes that cannot cover basic family expenses.
- Poor community infrastructure often complicates families’ access to nutritious food. Healthy food is not always as available in Latino neighborhoods in the same quantity, price, and quality as in other parts of town, leading to “food deserts” for some Hispanic families.
- Lack of adequate transportation requires families to spend extra time and money buying food. Latino parents often reported a choice between shopping in neighborhood stores—which may have higher prices or few fresh food options—and spending more time traveling to stores with better prices or selection.
- Food assistance plays a positive role in children’s nutritional intake. Nearly all of the families interviewed described federal nutrition programs, particularly WIC and SNAP, and free or low-cost school-based meals as essential to their ability to feed their children healthy foods.
Families experiencing food insecurity reported that they sacrificed food quality for quantity. With little food to go around, parents said that they would buy and prepare inexpensive, calorie-dense, and filling foods that they can make last; fresh produce—which costs more and spoils more quickly—was often considered an unrealistic option for meals every day.
“Latino parents and grandparents recognize how important it is for children to have nutritious food so that they can be healthy and have a good start in life. The dinner table is at the heart of every Hispanic family as the place to share food, love, and life lessons. As a society, it is in everyone’s best interest that the dinner table offer all of our children good, nutritious meals,” said Ryan.
For this project, NCLR worked with five Affiliate community-based organizations in the target regions: Community Council of Idaho in Caldwell; La Clínica del Pueblo and Mary’s Center in the District of Columbia; La Fe Policy Research and Education Center in San Antonio; and La Fe Preparatory School/Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, Inc. in El Paso. Each of these organizations provides programs and services to Latino and other families in the region.
NCLR advocates for a comprehensive approach that brings together communities and tailors solutions to families’ needs in order to improve the lives of Latino children who are hungry or are at risk for health problems due to poor nutrition. For more information about NCLR’s work on Latino child nutrition, please visit the NCLR nutrition web page. Sign up to receive NCLR's health and nutrition updates, including one of 10 new video vignettes each week.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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