Learning from a community action project to build community strength and local health promotion empowerment through food

The state of food, health and social support systems in America, which are reflected in rising rates of hunger, malnourishment and social isolation, makes it clear that we must reshape our food, health and social practices if we are going to eliminate food-related health disparities. Community Kitchens Northwest (CKNW), a coalition of community kitchens (CKs) in the Pacific Northwest, creates opportunities to rebuild community strength and local health promotion empowerment through food. CK gatherings offer community members a space to come together through pooling resources and preparing food to share. This presentation describes the evolution of a participatory action project initiated by a CKNW leader in partnership with local public health and community centers and academia to build the capacity of a Southeast Seattle community to work together through a CK model to address community identified issues around food and health such as, access to quality, healthy, affordable foods for those with few resources and support systems. The evolution of the action project was systematically described and evaluated through case study methods using a PAR framework. Findings highlight the importance of empowering approaches in addressing health disparities and provide community health workers with the knowledge and skills to improve care and promote health through community-driven health promotion interventions. Continuous co-learning and improvement of health promotion programs already operating in a community of interest assists practitioners and academicians in overcoming translational barriers of program acceptability, feasibility and sustainability in communities while enabling and empowering communities in health promotion practice.