CalFresh Healthy Living to the Rescue in San Diego County!

Summary

In San Diego County, California, CalFresh Healthy Living, the SNAP-Ed program in California, partnered with the San Diego Rescue Mission (also known as the Mission). The Mission is an organization that provides meals, shelter, clothing, education, and job skills training for individuals experiencing homelessness. In 2021, CalFresh Healthy Living began partnering with the Mission to enhance their healing-centered practices by adding a nutrition-related, wellness, and healthy lifestyle component to their program.

participants prep food by cutting vegetabels and herbs

Challenges

In the nine priority communities identified across San Diego County, health inequities have created barriers to healthy food access and food imbalances in these marginalized communities.

The Mission has a full time live-in residential program called the Mission Academy, which utilizes a twelve-month trauma-informed holistic approach to recovery with the goal of getting residents back on their feet and giving them tools, training, and hope for the future. However, the Mission Academy lacked a nutrition education and healthy living component in their Wellness semester, which is important to support sustainable health status and healthy eating life skills.

Solutions

In December 2021, CalFresh Healthy Living partnered with the Mission to offer a hands-on, healthy living and nutrition education classroom course series as part of the Mission’s recovery and job placement program. The primary goal of this partnership was to enhance the recovery and wellbeing of the Mission residents by adding nutrition-related healthy lifestyle supports. The life skills-based nutrition series gave residents the training and tools to enhance their wellbeing, both while in the program and beyond.
Learning about mindful activities and nurturing oneself in a resilient way despite current life circumstances was also part of the intervention.

Participants cook food in an electric skillet and put food on plates

The curriculum used was “Around the Table: Nourishing Families,” which included topics such as nutrition and stress, healthy and budget-friendly shopping, toxic stress and health, and nourishment in our communities. This curriculum upholds principles of trauma-informed engagement and nourishment and was well-suited for the Mission residents. “Around the Table” is available in person or online for facilitating partners who have completed several hours of training via the curriculum’s author, Leah’s Pantry. Students are encouraged to share their personal stories and experiences with food in a safe-space environment.

The residents of the Mission’s one-year program participated in mindfulness activities to reduce stress while learning nutrition concepts and culinary skills. Surveys administered to residents before and after participation in the program demonstrated that their average daily consumption of fruit increased by 0.2 cups. Many individuals expressed how attending the classes has inspired them to recreate recipe ideas for their meals and snacks during and after the program. Some participants even became more sociable, comfortable with sharing among the group, and more inclined to participate in food preparation and discussion.

“Thank you to the teachers as I quite enjoyed the class a lot. I loved learning…healthier recipes that don’t take much effort but turn out delicious. This class made me more aware of what I put in my body and that eating healthier isn’t always more expensive. Again, thank you all for this knowledge. I hope to bring some of what I learned into the next chapter of my life.”
__________

“Nutrition class helped me learn to choose better food for my life today.”
__________

“Nutrition class was very beneficial. I learned to shop along the outer ring to eat healthier and to check the labels to understand just exactly what I am consuming. Our instructor was very engaging and made the class fun. My questions were answered, and I was understood. It helped me choose better quality with whole ingredients in mind for peace of mind about what I eat and for better all over wellbeing.”

Sustaining Success

Participants report that they intend to carry out skills they have learned and sustain these changes over time. We received many anecdotal comments in addition to the pre and post behavioral outcome data collected from the CalFresh Healthy Living Adult Survey.

The CalFresh Healthy Living nutrition class series quickly became a mandatory core class that one-year Mission residents must take for program completion. Continued communication and training between the CalFresh Healthy Living team and Mission staff has been essential to continue the partnership. Future goals include meal evaluation and strategies to rework current menu offerings for all San Diego Rescue Mission residents.

CalFresh Healthy Living is the SNAP-Ed program in California.
CalFresh Healthy Living, California Department of Public Health
npab@cdph.ca.gov