This document discusses using food as a way to connect communities and empower people. It describes three organizations - Farmer Frog, MALDEF, and CHIP - that use food and nutrition education to build relationships, foster cultural understanding, and empower participants to make healthier choices. The organizations create social connections and support systems through school gardens, workshops on culturally relevant foods, and lifestyle change programs.

1. Hare

2. Connecting Through Food
Take a look at the power behind food and take away practical concepts
that can be applied in your family, community and cultural circles.
Marlen Boivin (M) – Community Outreach Coordinator – Farmer Frog, 501c3
Dr. Kevin Clay – Chief of Ambulatory Medicine – Providence Regional Medical Center, Everett
Gloria Puentes – Director, Diversity Relations - Sodexo
Equity – Food Justice - having affordable access to growing and eating fresh, (nutritious),
culturally-relevant food
Empathy – Socio-economic, educational and cultural realities while fostering dignity
Resilience – Bringing together like-minded individuals, connecting as neighbors, thru lifestyle,
around circumstance, and in the comfort of culture
Empowerment – Empowers participants to make healthier choices and provides the tools to
do so

3. Healthy

4. Culturally Relevant

5. Empowerment

6. Food Justice

7. Relationships

12. Connecting Through Food
Food as the fabric of culture, MALDEF connects communities through nutritional awareness
workshops focused on culturally relevant food, education and comradery. Empowering
participants to make healthier choices and providing them with the tools and knowledge they
need to do so. This experience creates a bond among culturally similar groups.
Farmer Frog is transforming neighborhoods through school gardens. Primarily placed in low
income areas, children and families are encouraged to grow food for themselves and their
community. Empowering, hand-up programs and hands-on learning create a safe environment
for neighbors to grow together and create a healthy community.
Nutrition is a social determinant of health – the most basic of needs. Through CHIP, social
connections are made in the building of support systems and lifestyle change with like-minded
individuals on the same journey. Participants are provided the tools and knowledge necessary to
make a substantial and sustainable change in their diet, creating a healthier person with lower
healthcare costs.