Strengthening Families: Building Nutrition Stable Communities

Speakers

• Renee Watkins Chambers: President and CEO, Crossroads Community Services, Dallas, Texas
• Whitney Strauss: Executive Director, AdvoCare Foundation

Key Topics

Introduction

• Objective: Strengthening families to build nutrition-stable communities.
• Focus: Eradicating childhood obesity and promoting healthy eating habits.

Food Sovereignty

• Definition: Community-led solutions that allow communities to own their food systems.
• Importance: Shifts the narrative from food as a social service to food as a human right.
• Impact: Empowers communities to find their own solutions to food insecurity.

Urban Agriculture

• Research: Whitney's dissertation focuses on urban farms owned by community members.
• Case Studies: Tucson, LA, Detroit, Atlanta.
• Challenges: 95% of farms are run by white men, making community-led farms rare.
• Models: Employ farming to address food insecurity and economic empowerment.

Community Marketplaces

• Community Engagement: Involving communities and addressing the dignity of choice in food selection.
• Proximity & Distribution: Importance of placing food access points within easy reach.

Health Integration

• Social Determinants of Health: Link between health and food access.
• Nutrition Pharmacies: Programs where Medicaid/Medicare reimburses for produce prescriptions.

Global Perspective: Tanzania

• Food Resilience: Families create resilient food systems through agriculture, trade, and bartering.
• Community Support: “We take care of each other here” – community-led food security.

Addressing Barriers

• Transportation: Major barrier to accessing both healthcare and food.
• Rising Food Costs: Impact on