The SOUL FOOD INITIATIVE

By: Shannon Campbell, Vivian Chiang, Ilana Hadar,

and Ruchi Shah
 what’s going on?
● High incidence of obesity in target population of the
Bedford-Stuyvesant community.
● Community associated with low socioeconomic status.
● CDC defines obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of
30 kg/m2 or more.
● —Obesity determined by a weight to height ratio that is
correlated to increased levels of body fat.
● Overweight and obese adults at higher risk of developing
health problems.
 What’s going on? cont’d

● Second leading cause of preventable deaths.

● Obesity can be caused by a disproportion of calorie
uptake versus calories expended. Consuming too many
energy-dense foods and ones that are high in fat can also
lead to obesity.
 how did we get here?
● Three factors associated with the risk of obesity in
low-income communities are: nutrition, physical activity,
and psychosocial factors.
● Decrease in physical activity
● Limited access to affordable and fresh produce
● Lack of Nutrition Education
● Environmental and family influence
● Aggressive marketing from fast food industry
 Let’s hear it for the soul food initiative!
● Focuses on association of poor nutrition with risk of obesity.
● Strives to encourage healthy eating through ethnic-style nutrition
education cooking classes.
● "Soul Food" term used to describe traditional ethnic meals and
regional foods prepared by African Americans in southern part of
the United States.
● "Soul Food" fit’s our culturally sensitive initiative.
● In collaboration with City Harvest and churches within the
community.
● Utilize social cognitive theory to address obesity resulting from
individual-level behaviors, namely psychological processes.
 Let’s talk about SCT!
● Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is an interpersonal theory that incorporates personal
factors, behavior patterns, and environmental influences to explicate and facilitate
behavioral change

● Key constructs of the SCT often utilized in behavior modification programs include:
● Reciprocal determinism
● Environments and situations
● Observational learning
● Behavioral capabilities
● Reinforcement
● Outcome expectations
● Outcome expectancies
● Self-efficacy
● Self-regulation
● Managing emotional arousal

● The SCT allows the utilization of constructs to create action plans for targeted
health behaviors by incorporating the consciousness and self-regulative capabilities
of individuals
 Let’s Break bread!!
● In communities dominated by Blacks churches are often
used as a platform.
● Spirituality: Individual,Characterized by experiences
involving meaning,connectedness,and transcendence.
● Religion: Communal, Characterized by institutionalized
practices and beliefs, membership, and modes of
organization.
● Spirituality/Religion can influence health through four
pathways: (health behaviors, social support,
psychological states and psi influences)
 Review of the Literature
• Limited Resources
• Not many full-service grocery stores or farmers’ markets
• Increased purchases from corner stores
• Poorer quality produce
• More fast food restaurants
• Nutrition Education
• Healthy food choices
• Portion control
• Increased exercise
• Diabetes improvement
• Lower obesity rates
• Culture-sensitive influences
• Bedford-Stuyvesant Campaign Against Hunger
• The works of culinary historian Michael W. Twitty
• The Soul Food Initiative
 target population
● Bedford-Stuyvesant
● Low-income community - lack of access to healthy, affordable
foods
● Community dominated by African, African - American, and
Afro-Caribbean
● 35% of adults in Bed-Stuy are overweight
● 28% of adults in Bed-Stuy are obese
 PROGRAM GOALS
● Decreasing the obesity rates in the
Bedford-Stuyvesant community by working with
churches
● Helping to prevent resulting diseases due to
obesity
● Encouraging the community to live a healthier
lifestyle by creating a culturally sensitive
nutrition education program
 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
● Working with churches to encourage healthy eating
by providing culturally sensitive nutrition
education cooking classes
● Helping members make healthier choices, enjoy
cooking, and gain an appreciation for healthy meals
● Inspiring these individuals to feel comfortable
preparing their favorite cultural meals in a
healthier manner
 BY THE END OF THE YEAR:
● Through handing out surveys every other week we hope
to:
○ see a 30% increase in the member’s cooking at home at
least four times a week
○ see a 30% decrease in the member’s choice of eating fast
food more than twice a week
○ have 50% of members express their excitement about
cooking at home, preparing healthier meals, and eating
more fruits and vegetables - seen through specific
questions in our surveys
 Program Management
• The City Harvest staff
• Volunteer nutrition educators
• Volunteer chefs
• Other volunteers
 Budget
COSTS FOR
$36,000 Salary for program creators
$10,000 Additional food, cooking
supplies, and utensils
$3,000 printer, ink cartridges,
paper
$1,000 Website design

• TOTAL 36,000+1,000+3,000+10,000+0=50,000
 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
The nutrition education cooking classes will be monitored by
• Pre/post evaluation
• Surveys ( multiple choice questions and short answer questions )

• Nutrition pamphlets