By Kara D. Ryan, Senior Research Analyst, Health Policy Project
By now we know that there is more to improving Latino children’s nutrition outcomes than telling parents to buy healthier food. A whole host of economic and environmental factors—often called social determinants of health—affect a family’s ability to consistently buy and prepare affordable, nutritious meals.
Each week for nearly three months, through NCLR’s Comer Bien story booklet and video series, we’ve heard directly from Latino parents, caregivers, and youth about what helps and hinders their healthy food access. Our goal with Comer Bien was to bring attention to the broad set of issues that affect Latinos’ ability to put a healthy meal on the table.
We will continue to bring these stories and messages to the policymakers who have the power to tackle the root causes of food insecurity and nutritional deficits through comprehensive policy solutions. But we will also take action to build the political will to advance these solutions.
What are the policy solutions that will help Emily, Crystal, Clarissa, and Rosa better access the foods that they want to give their kids? Supporting and strengthening federal nutrition assistance is piece of the puzzle, but we also need to demand investments in community infrastructure so that our families have access to quality, affordable food in the neighborhoods where they live. We need to improve access to affordable health care, so that providers can spot children’s nutritional problems at an early age and connect their families with the tools and resources that are available to help them. We need to bolster language access strategies that help parents, caregivers, and children with limited English proficiency participate in programs and education. We need to support nutrition education that is budget conscious and culturally competent.
That’s why we invite you to join NCLR on Thursday, October 6 at 4:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. PDT for a Twitter chat, #NCLRChats, to discuss the ways in which social and environmental factors within our communities affect the nutrition of our children—and how we can come together to bring these messages to policymakers. We’ll be joined by our friends and partners, such as the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Feeding America, and Prevention Institute. We hope you’ll jump in to ask questions, share your experiences, and most of all, take action!
Taking part in the Twitter chat is easy; you can send your questions and contributions in advance to news@nclr.org, post on our Facebook wall, or send us a tweet using the #NCLRChats hashtag. We’ll be publishing the chat transcript and distributing it to decision-makers, so make your voice heard!
The Twitter chat is just the first in a series of actions that you can take to bring messages, stories, and priorities to decision-makers and ask them to create change for Latinos and other underserved families. Sign up to receive email updates and action alerts from NCLR, and we’ll keep you informed about opportunities to make your voice heard and advocate for improving our kids’ nutrition.
In the meantime, if you missed any of the video vignettes or blog posts featuring one of our staff members, partner organizations, or Affiliates reflecting on a particular topic, catch up on the full series through the links below.
Comer Bien blog post series:
1. Putting Food Solutions on the Table by Kara Ryan
2. Pinching Pennies: How One Latina Mom Feeds Her Family by Sara Benitez
3. What We Can Learn from Latino Families about Healthy Eating by Patricia Foxen
4: Through Great Lengths—The Predicament of Eating Healthy by Jennifer Ng’andu
5. Connecting the Dots: Community Safety and Latino Child Nutrition by Ann Whidden, Prevention Institute
6. “Helping to Do It All”: The Role of SNAP in Keeping Latino Families’ Heads above Water by Jim Weill, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
7. Climbing the Mountain Together: Providing a Culturally Appropriate Approach to Health Care and Nutrition by Alicia Wilson, La Clínica del Pueblo
8. Supporting Latino Children’s Health and Nutrition in Schools by Cynthia Cano, La Fe Preparatory School
9. Success Stories: How Community Health Centers Support Improvements in Latino Children’s Nutrition by Maria Gomez, Mary’s Center
10. Tips for Healthy Eating—On A Budget by Manuela McDonough