Food and Nutrition Outreach for newly arrived refugees

Poor nutrition is an unexpected risk faced by refugees and immigrants upon resettling in the United States. Levels of obesity are at 8 % for foreign born populations living in the United States for less than 1 year and 19 %for those who have lived in the US for more than 15 years. In 2005, with funding from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) launched a Food and Nutrition Outreach Program. This program focuses on strengthening the capacity of resettlement agencies to deliver culturally appropriate nutrition education through existing services. The goal of the program is to communicate culturally relevant nutrition information to refugee communities, empowering refugees to establish positive nutrition habits and prevent disease. Program objectives are to create a comprehensive nutrition manual, to train service providers in the delivery of credible nutrition information and to collect, create and disseminate materials that communicate nutrition messages to refugee and immigrant populations. The manual includes sections on intercultural communication techniques, nutrition activities, and social marketing tools. Resources included in the kit are the manual, a pictured and text based flip chart and handouts.

The tool kit was developed by a team of resettlement and public health professionals. Authors discuss the development of a nutrition program for refugee and immigrant communities, the significance of content and presentation and training and usage strategies for personnel and agencies involved in resettlement. The nutrition flip chart is showcased and ways of accessing it are shared.