Food is Medicine: Literacy across Race, Income, and Neighborhood

Background: Food as Medicine is a community health promotion campaign formed around the simple idea that what you put in your body matters.  A suburban Cook County report on food access shows the south suburbs has the least food access and the north region has the greatest food access. Since 2008, the Cook County Department of Public Health and Loyola University of Chicago delivered a culturally tailored campaign that reconnects African American communities to their history of growing and eating fresh foods. Food as Medicine partners developed community gardens, entrepreneurial gardens, and workforce development programs, lead by African American residents in Cook County. The current study will determine the level of fruit and vegetable recognition across Cook County residents.

Methodology: One-hundred seventy participants from Maywood, and Markham, IL completed a 36-item food recognition survey, demographics, and food intake assessment.

Results: Analysis will identify the differences in food recognition across social and structural determinants of health. The study population consisted of African Americans (79%), Caucasians (10.5%), and Latinos (9%) with representation across age, education, and income levels.  Participants were able to recognize several local fruits and vegetables. Differences across communities and demographic factors will be presented and discussed.

Conclusions: The results will build the Food as Medicine campaign and explore the historic and cultural meanings of foods as a health benefit. Food as Medicine promotes the community demand for healthy food environments that work in conjunction with policy, systems, and environmental strategies.