Southern Organic Kitchen Project

i was recently informed that i received a 2008-2010 food and society policy fellowship to work on my Southern Organic Kitchen Project.

the mission of my project is to educate primarily African-Americans living in the Southern United States about the connections between diet and health; to empower them to create more awareness about the need to use healthier ingredients and cooking techniques to meet modern day healthy concerns; to co-create strategies to increase access to local and sustainably-grown foods in their communities; and to organize them to influence local and state food policies. My mission is predicated on the following facts:

*Most traditional Southern dishes are demonstrably higher in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt as well as lower in more desirable nutrients;

*Nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South;

*Obesity afflicts roughly one-third of African-American women.

*And the states with the highest rates of obesity are also those with the highest rates of hypertension, diabetes, and other diet-related illnesses.

more to come. . .