Planting Seeds of Mindfulness in Northwest Atlanta: A Food Literacyand Empowerment Program for African American Youth Pubblico

McClintic, Emilie (2016)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/ms35t886k?locale=it
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Abstract

Background: Food insecurity and the associated health consequences is a serious social justice issue for minority populations in the Southern United States. [1] African American children disproportionately experience poverty in the U.S., leaving them more vulnerable to inadequate nutrition. This is of particular concern because food insecurity and inadequate nutrition can be extremely detrimental to a child's health and development. In the state of Georgia, more than 1 in 4 children live in food insecure households. [2] Public health professionals need to prioritize programs that address food justice issues and nutritional inadequacy from multiple angles, including through community-based education programs. Food literacy programs rooted in empowerment theory and critical pedagogy have great potential for building necessary skills and knowledge that will help food insecure youth of color navigate a compromised food system.

Curriculum: The author created this curriculum in partnership with the growers of Grow Where You Are based on the request of the Emory University, Urban Health Initiative. A pilot program was run in Spring 2016, to assess the acceptability and efficacy of program activities. The curriculum is comprised of 12 sessions, focused on addressing the four key components of food literacy: planning/management, selection, preparation, and consumption; and four critical aspects of the food/agriculture system: production, sales, preparation, and consumption. The curriculum includes facilitator instructions for implementation based on the pilot run of the program, as well as materials and guidelines for program evaluation.

Conclusion: The curriculum is ready to be used by educators or by growers for implementation in African American communities. Prior to implementation, recommendations based on the experiences during the pilot program should be taken into consideration.

Table of Contents

Chapter I: Introduction..............................................................................................1

Chapter II: Comprehensive Literature Review..............................................................3

Food Insecurity.........................................................................................................3

Food Insecurity and Structuralized Racism..................................................................3

How Food Insecurity Affects Child Health and Development.........................................4

Strategies that Address Inadequate Nutrition in Children.............................................6

Garden-Based Nutrition Educationâ............................................................................7

Food Literacy Education.............................................................................................9

Limitations of Food Literacy Education......................................................................10

Using Critical Race Pedagogy for Food Literacy Programs............................................10

Experiential Learning Model......................................................................................11

Community Context..................................................................................................12

Chapter III: Curriculum Development.........................................................................14

Initial Planning Phase and Curriculum Design.............................................................14

Pilot Program Implementation...................................................................................15

Curriculum Development...........................................................................................17

Chapter III: Results From Pilot...................................................................................18

General Description of Participants............................................................................18

Summary of Activities...............................................................................................19

Additional Evidence of Impact...................................................................................37

Chapter IV:Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations.........................................40

Challenges to Implementation...................................................................................40

Recommendations and additional considerations for implementation..........................40

References...............................................................................................................44

Appendix ................................................................................................................49

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