New bilingual shopping guide seeks to improve nutrition for Latinos
New bilingual shopping guide seeks to improve nutrition for Latinos
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Produce professionals should remember that many U.S. consumers do not speak English, especially those in the large and growing Latino communities. This group also faces many nutritionally related health issues that, as a culture, did not afflict its members when they lived in their homelands.
In an effort to help Latinos improve their eating habits and consequently their health, Oldways Preservation Trust and the Latino Nutrition Coalition, which is a division of Oldways, have collaborated in the development of the first comprehensive supermarket-shopping guide targeting the Latino community. Titled Camino M?gico: Nuestra Gu?a de Compras Para el Supermercado, which translates to The Magic Road: Our Supermarket Shopping Guide, the pocket- sized booklet is designed to help Latinos make wiser food choices while shopping. It was launched in early May at Fiesta Supermarkets throughout the Houston area.
Following close behind the initial launch, the booklets were to be offered at grocery stores in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston. Eventually, the plan is for nationwide distribution.
Liz Mintz, manager of LNC, explained how the booklet evolved from a discussion to an idea and finally to what the organization hopes will ultimately find its way into the pocket or purse of every Latin-American consumer.
"The development and organization of LNC was decided during a Latin American Diet Summit conference in Mexico in 2005," said Ms. Mintz. "By 2006, it was organized and operating, but we felt that as a coalition, we needed a tangible product. We also realized that there was nothing being mass distributed that helped Latino consumers at the retail level learn how to buy nutritional foods in the U.S. The booklet is the result of these factors."
Ms. Mintz explained that genetically, the Latino metabolism and physiological constitution is different than that of people of other heritages. Latinos' systems became adjusted over thousands of years to diets specific to their areas of the world. When they come to the United States, the food products available in grocery stores and at foodservice establishments are much different. Consequently, the obesity rate is very high among Latinos in the United States, and this contributes to the numerous serious health problems they suffer, including diabetes and heart conditions.
"Diabetes is on rise in every population," said Ms. Mintz. "Statistics indicate that one out of every three people born after the year 2000 will have diabetes. But one out of every two Latinos will develop it -- which is twice as high as the rest of the population. It is directly attributed to obesity resulting from lack of exercise and poor nutrition."
The produce industry had a strong hand in the founding of LNC and in its programs, including the creation of Camino M?gico. Founding members include the U.S. Potato Board, the Peanut Institute, ConAgra Foods and the Florida Tomato Committee.
Samantha Winters, marketing director for the Florida Tomato Committee, based in Maitland, FL, said that it took the organization a split-second to make the decision to become a founding member.
"The group's main goal is to work toward better health for Latinos by helping to educate them on ways to make better nutritional choices," said Ms. Winters. "Research shows that Latinos eat tomatoes about four times a week, and that over 90 percent buy field-grown tomatoes. This is an important audience for us, not only for industry reasons but also because of what we feel we can contribute to improved health for the Latino population."
Although Latinos live in every state of the nation, Ms. Winters said that data show the largest percentage live in California, Texas, Florida and New York - which account for two-thirds of the total 40.5 million Latinos now living in the United States. That means that 14.2 percent of the U.S. population is Latino, and that percentage continues to grow rapidly.
"The Southeast has the highest growth rate of Latinos currently," said Ms. Winters, "and that puts Florida tomatoes in a prime position to help get this important health message out."
LNC's intuitionalists and scientific advisors helped in deciding what Camino M?gico should include in its content.
"A Latin American food pyramid incorporates foods that are common to Latinos, and so are included in the pyramid," said Ms. Mintz. "Papayas, avocados, peppers, beans and other typical Latin items are displayed in the pyramid. The remainder of the information in the booklet stems from it, including a calorie-management page, menu-suggestion pages for all meals and snacks, and a guide on how to read and understand an English nutritional facts label. We thought this was very important because of the language challenges."
The booklet also has a shopping list guide that includes all the major food groups and suggests products for each. Finally, a spread page explains how American grocery stores are laid out -- which can be much different than how grocery stores in other countries are arranged. This chart indicates that fresh foods are usually on stores' perimeters, and dry goods are on aisles in the center.
Ms. Mintz said that the map helps people find items and learn how American grocers merchandise products, thus making shopping easier.
"We believe that the booklets should be placed in customers' hands right at the cash register," said Ms. Mintz. "They can easily be handed to customers with the grocery receipt. We don't mind that people of other heritages will also get the booklets. It is written in both English and Spanish, so it may even help to bridge a gap between heritages. We are focusing on grocers with a high Latino customer base, but ultimately we want to have widespread distribution."
(Supermarkets interested in participating in the program could contact Ms. Mintz at [email protected].)
Produce professionals should remember that many U.S. consumers do not speak English, especially those in the large and growing Latino communities. This group also faces many nutritionally related health issues that, as a culture, did not afflict its members when they lived in their homelands.
In an effort to help Latinos improve their eating habits and consequently their health, Oldways Preservation Trust and the Latino Nutrition Coalition, which is a division of Oldways, have collaborated in the development of the first comprehensive supermarket-shopping guide targeting the Latino community. Titled Camino M?gico: Nuestra Gu?a de Compras Para el Supermercado, which translates to The Magic Road: Our Supermarket Shopping Guide, the pocket- sized booklet is designed to help Latinos make wiser food choices while shopping. It was launched in early May at Fiesta Supermarkets throughout the Houston area.
Following close behind the initial launch, the booklets were to be offered at grocery stores in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston. Eventually, the plan is for nationwide distribution.
Liz Mintz, manager of LNC, explained how the booklet evolved from a discussion to an idea and finally to what the organization hopes will ultimately find its way into the pocket or purse of every Latin-American consumer.
"The development and organization of LNC was decided during a Latin American Diet Summit conference in Mexico in 2005," said Ms. Mintz. "By 2006, it was organized and operating, but we felt that as a coalition, we needed a tangible product. We also realized that there was nothing being mass distributed that helped Latino consumers at the retail level learn how to buy nutritional foods in the U.S. The booklet is the result of these factors."
Ms. Mintz explained that genetically, the Latino metabolism and physiological constitution is different than that of people of other heritages. Latinos' systems became adjusted over thousands of years to diets specific to their areas of the world. When they come to the United States, the food products available in grocery stores and at foodservice establishments are much different. Consequently, the obesity rate is very high among Latinos in the United States, and this contributes to the numerous serious health problems they suffer, including diabetes and heart conditions.
"Diabetes is on rise in every population," said Ms. Mintz. "Statistics indicate that one out of every three people born after the year 2000 will have diabetes. But one out of every two Latinos will develop it -- which is twice as high as the rest of the population. It is directly attributed to obesity resulting from lack of exercise and poor nutrition."
The produce industry had a strong hand in the founding of LNC and in its programs, including the creation of Camino M?gico. Founding members include the U.S. Potato Board, the Peanut Institute, ConAgra Foods and the Florida Tomato Committee.
Samantha Winters, marketing director for the Florida Tomato Committee, based in Maitland, FL, said that it took the organization a split-second to make the decision to become a founding member.
"The group's main goal is to work toward better health for Latinos by helping to educate them on ways to make better nutritional choices," said Ms. Winters. "Research shows that Latinos eat tomatoes about four times a week, and that over 90 percent buy field-grown tomatoes. This is an important audience for us, not only for industry reasons but also because of what we feel we can contribute to improved health for the Latino population."
Although Latinos live in every state of the nation, Ms. Winters said that data show the largest percentage live in California, Texas, Florida and New York - which account for two-thirds of the total 40.5 million Latinos now living in the United States. That means that 14.2 percent of the U.S. population is Latino, and that percentage continues to grow rapidly.
"The Southeast has the highest growth rate of Latinos currently," said Ms. Winters, "and that puts Florida tomatoes in a prime position to help get this important health message out."
LNC's intuitionalists and scientific advisors helped in deciding what Camino M?gico should include in its content.
"A Latin American food pyramid incorporates foods that are common to Latinos, and so are included in the pyramid," said Ms. Mintz. "Papayas, avocados, peppers, beans and other typical Latin items are displayed in the pyramid. The remainder of the information in the booklet stems from it, including a calorie-management page, menu-suggestion pages for all meals and snacks, and a guide on how to read and understand an English nutritional facts label. We thought this was very important because of the language challenges."
The booklet also has a shopping list guide that includes all the major food groups and suggests products for each. Finally, a spread page explains how American grocery stores are laid out -- which can be much different than how grocery stores in other countries are arranged. This chart indicates that fresh foods are usually on stores' perimeters, and dry goods are on aisles in the center.
Ms. Mintz said that the map helps people find items and learn how American grocers merchandise products, thus making shopping easier.
"We believe that the booklets should be placed in customers' hands right at the cash register," said Ms. Mintz. "They can easily be handed to customers with the grocery receipt. We don't mind that people of other heritages will also get the booklets. It is written in both English and Spanish, so it may even help to bridge a gap between heritages. We are focusing on grocers with a high Latino customer base, but ultimately we want to have widespread distribution."
(Supermarkets interested in participating in the program could contact Ms. Mintz at [email protected].)
