The MetroHealth System - VIDA!

What is it?

The VIDA! project focuses on the Hispanic/Latino neighborhood in the immediate vicinity of MetroHealth's main campus designated as a food desert by the USDA. Through engagement with local residents and institutions (schools, non-profit organizations, churches, restaurants and other food retailers), strategies are being developed around the issue of healthy eating, with a particular emphasis on cooking healthy Hispanic cuisine using healthy ingredients that honor ethnic/cultural food traditions. The mission of VIDA! is "Strengthening families through cultural experiences by showing, sharing and supporting each other in creating a healthier community."

Who is it for?

Residents who live in the designated food desert. Specifically, VIDA! is working with women who are residents and faith leaders of the community.

Why do they do it?

Historically, women in the Hispanic community are the gatekeepers of food and culture. By engaging women with healthy approaches to traditional, culturally appropriate meals, VIDA! is able to meet women and cooks on a middle ground that respects their unique cultural identity and doesn't rewrite their history, while also addressing common health issues and disparities in their community.

Impact

After several successful sessions, these local women have learned about year-round access to fresh, healthy ingredients and how they can alter their traditional approaches to cooking without losing their ethnic/cultural identity. Through this engagement, the women faith leaders have voiced their desire to be trained as community health cooks, to then train families within their faith community to adopt the healthy cooking practices. The impacts of healthier cooking and eating will be measurable in the health data of families engaged through their local churches.

Contact: Eduardo Muñoz
Manager, Community Health Advocacy Initiative
Telephone: 216-778-1906
Email: emunoz@metrohealth.org