News from Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

It all begins with a referral. Pediatricians arrange for children who are diagnosed as overweight or obese to meet with the Let's Get Movin' staff to introduce them to the program opportunities and identify which ones best meet their needs. Recognizing the fact that children will be more successful with the help and support of their parents, the program is designed to work with the entire family, providing them with basic health and nutrition knowledge, cooking classes and ongoing fitness opportunities.

Throughout the first phase of the program, families attend three classes that address basic nutrition knowledge such as how to read food labels, compare grocery items and avoid sugary drinks. In the second phase, participants are asked to apply these skills during a supermarket tour. As a part of the group outing, each family receives a coupon to grocery shop and is encouraged to use their new knowledge to make healthy choices, including buying at least 1 to 2 new healthy items for their families to try. Finally, in phase three, families are eligible to participate in EBNHC's cooking class put on by "Share our Strength." The class is team-taught by a chef and a nutritionist, covering topics such as substituting whole grains and healthier cooking oils. The family participates by chopping vegetables and doing the prep work for the meal.

This three-phase program can be followed by a newer program piloted this year called "The Next Steps Program," or "Pasos," in Spanish. This program was added as a way for participants to apply tools learned in the first three phases. In Pasos, Let's Get Movin' staff follow-up with individual families to set goals related to nutrition and healthy living.

Once a family knows what to shop for and how to prepare it, they are able to bring these concepts home to their own dinner table. But accessing fresh, healthy food, especially on a budget, can be a daunting task. One way EBNHC has made this task easier is by offering farm shares to select families. Through World Peas, a sustainability program at Tufts University that teaches immigrant farmers how to farm on US soil, 15 families receive a box of fresh farm produce each week. Each box contains a variety of freshly harvested vegetables along with a newsletter with recipes combining that week's produce.

In addition, this spring, EBNHC offered 31 families the opportunity to plant and tend a plot of land in the Center's Wellness Garden. Together, EBNHC staff and program participants spent an afternoon turning what was an old, abandoned parking lot into a lush, bountiful source of healthy and affordable food.

Those who were not able to have their own plot need not worry. The EBNHC Farmers Market, now in its fourth successive year, is bigger than ever. Initially developed by a Community HealthCorps member, the market is open every Thursday from 3-6:30 in Central Square. Pea tendrils, peaches, and local raw honey are just some of the things one might find at the market amidst live music, children's activities and community camaraderie. To ensure the food is affordable for all, EBNHC collaborates with The Food Project on many incentive programs such as Bounty Bucks and the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program. In this way, the community can enjoy fresh, healthy produce at an affordable price while supporting their neighbor farmers.

Of course, some essential groceries can't be grown or found at the market, and for these items there are corner stores. EBNHC recognizes that the corner stores in East Boston are an integral part of the community's lifestyle and have taken strides to ensure that healthy food items are available there too. Healthy on the Block, a program run by EBNHC and the Boston Public Health Commission, educates corner store owners about the importance of nutrition and its effect on childhood obesity. Together they established a "farm-to-store" program with World Peas that delivers fresh produce to the corner stores every week. EBNHC HealthCorps members -- who provide a major source of staffing for the Let's Get Movin' program -- work with store owners to create displays, placing healthier food choices such as produce and whole grains, in more prominent locations throughout the store.

In addition to health education, the Let's Get Movin' program also offers an array of organized fitness programs for children and adults, all designed to empower healthier lifestyles for community members.

To find out more about EBNHC's Let's Get Movin' Programs, visit their website at http://www.ebnhc.org/programs.letsgetmovin.php.