Chef Lauren teams with Adelante to bring healthy eating to Latinx families during the pandemic
Chef Lauren Chandler
Chef Lauren Chandler is a renowned Portland-area chef with a background in social work, and she’s on a mission to do good.
Through virtual “kitchen visits”, Lauren teaches individuals and businesses how food can support health.
The Adelante Mujeres Nourish the Community team was lucky enough to get some lessons from Lauren to help them take their workshops into the virtual space.
Nourish the Community, a program of Adelante Mujeres, exists to improve poor health outcomes within the low-income Latinx community. Studies have shown that Latinx folks are disproportionately affected by obesity, diabetes, risk of stroke, and other chronic illnesses, adding further stress and hardship to the Latinx community.
Factors like higher poverty rates and diets high in sugar and fat which are more accessible to low-income families and from general food insecurity) contribute to poor health outcomes. In fact, a 2014 study showed that hospital admissions for hypoglycemia were higher among low-income populations and increased 27% in the last week of the month when food assistance resources start to run out.
Latina women and their families who participate in the Nourish the Community Program can attend cooking classes taught in Spanish and get access to fresh fruits and veggies. Families in the program are seeing vast improvements in their health. A study of the program found that participants adopt new dietary habits and improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. Participants report eating healthier and feeling better, and in turn, needing less medication and less medical care.
Normally, Adelante staff would meet for group cooking sessions and have the opportunity to share ideas, recipes, and tips. But when COVID-19 hit Oregon and in-person classes were no longer a safe option, the Adelante Mujeres team started brainstorming. Eating healthy and access to nutritious food would be more important than ever before. But how would they reach families?
Here’s where Chef Lauren Chandler comes in.
The Adelante Mujeres ‘Nourish the Community’ Program team meets virtually with Chef Lauren Chandler.
Chef Lauren helped Adelante staff adapt their programming to online learning so that they can continue to help Latina women and families, as well as food-based businesses, achieve their nutrition and food goals and stay healthy through the pandemic.
Many families are accessing emergency food boxes from food pantries and have little to no choice in what ingredients they receive. Now, Latinx community members will receive individual coaching through virtual kitchen visits with Adelante staff, where they can share ideas for how to use new ingredients, how to stretch your ingredients, help with meal planning or just offer recipe and cooking inspiration.
The Adelante Mujeres Nourish the Community Program is made possible by supporters like you.
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