Assessment, Planning, Intervention and Evaluation of ENRICH LA Angela Gomez Community Nutrition 418 Spring 2015 California State University, Los Angeles
Community Needs Assessment Definition of Community Enrich LA works with schools in the Los Angeles community including areas such as El Sereno, Boyle Heights, Bell Gardens, and South Gate. Their main location is located in El Sereno where the population is 81.2% Latino, 11.4% Asian, 4.9% White, 1.7% Black, and 0.8% other. They work in elementary public schools in order to reach children in any economic status. Their main target group is the children in these areas who attend these schools but also try to incorporate the community in the surrounding area. Enrich LA builds gardens in these schools so that the children can have access to fresh ingredients or produce as well as become educated on healthy living. They involve the community in these garden builds as well to bring them closer together and help promote healthy living throughout all the families in the area. The area surrounding these schools is mostly low income neighborhoods where fresh produce is scarce. There is an abundance of fast food chain restaurants that serve high caloric food at a low cost in these areas also. This puts many families and children in the area at an increased risk for obesity. Since these areas are typically of lower income, price point usually has the greatest effect on choosing food items which results in less healthier options. Parameters of Assessment This assessment can help determine the needs that this community has for the program Enrich LA. In order to figure out the things that need to be done to promote healthy living in the community some information will have to be collected such as the demographics, income level, family size, obesity rates, and surrounding food locations along with cost of fresh food and produce. This information can be gathered from websites such as the Census and the Los
Angeles County Public Health. In this assessment the target populations is children in public elementary schools but can also extend towards the community. By becoming an intern with Enrich LA, my goal will be to help maintain gardens in schools while also teaching students to do the same as well as the importance of consuming fresh and healthier food options. Collect Data Enrich LA works in schools in the greater Los Angeles area but has their staple school in El Sereno where they have a beautiful garden and hold lots of community activities. As previously stated, the population in the El Sereno community mostly consists of Latinos according to the Los Angeles Times. The average income level also according to the LA Times is $45, 866 which is considered low for the county. As reported by City-Data, the average price to buy a home in the El Sereno area ranges from $235,000 - $540, 000 which includes single family housing units, detached houses, townhouses or condos. According to Key Indicators of Health by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health by Jonathan Fielding, 37.9% of households have children and 30.0% of adults are not in the work force. In these families 51.5% of adults use walking paths, parks and playgrounds in their neighborhoods. This report also states that 16.2% of adults consumes five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. In relation to fast food, 40.0% of adults consume it at least once a week whereas 50.5% of children do. In another report done by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy it was stated that in the Los Angeles County there are 56% fast-food restaurants, 27% convenience stores, 13% supermarkets, 3% produce stores and 1% farmers markets. There are over 650,000 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District that are surrounded by these fast food restaurants. Fielding also states that soda or sweetened beverage consumption is consumed at least once a day by both
adults and children in between 35.5% - 38.3% while Children between the ages of six and seventeen who do not reach the recommended amount of exercise each week is 60.3%. This can be a contributing factor to the 22.4% of children in grades 5, 7, and 9 who are considered obese. Analyze and Interpret Data Based off the data that I was able to gather from the community that Enrich LA works with, there are ways that this program can greatly benefit the community. One of the major problems that is evident is that this area has a low income while there is a significant percentage of adults who are unemployed. This is problematic because it makes shopping for food difficult if prices are over their budget. Some data also reported over double the amount of fast food chain restaurants in the surrounding area compared to supermarkets. Fast food chains are known for their extremely low prices for a large amount of food that is usually also high in flavor. The unfortunate thing about these foods is that it is most often lacking nutrients and filled with extra calories or fats to obtain such delicious flavors. Many families in these areas tend to go to these fast food restaurants because of convenience, price point and because it makes adults and children happy alike. In this area it is still hard to find fresh produce or farmers markets where families can make healthier purchases. It is also difficult because nutrition knowledge in these communities is lacking and therefore children crave a lot more of the junk foods than the healthier ones. Enrich LA can help these communities by building gardens in the schools these children attend. By having a garden in the school students will be able to have immediate access to fresh fruits and vegetables while also learning the benefits of having such items. Garden mentors can teach children about specific produce or gardening techniques that children can incorporate into
their own lives. Enrich LA can also include the community in the building of these gardens so that adults can benefit as well while also bringing the community together in such a positive way. Having a garden in a school will help promote healthier living and will hopefully decrease the amount of spending done at fast food chains. Having access to a garden can also hopefully help increase the percentage of adults who consume at least five servings of fruits or vegetables a day. This is a huge step in making a difference especially in a district with such a large amount of schools. This impact can spread and eventually be felt throughout the greater Los Angeles area where students will become more informed about the food choices they are making and essentially help decrease rates of obesity. Program Planning Report based on Assessed Needs In this area, the most major nutrition related problem is the lack of education on fresh produce from gardens. This problem is also related to low income and city living with increased amounts of fast food chains in these neighborhoods. As before mentioned in the report by Jonathan Fielding, 40% - 50 % of children and adults are consuming fast food at least once a week. The California Center for Public Health also states that there are 56% of fast food restaurants in this area while farmers markets remain scarce or unavailable every day of the week. An intervention to address this major problem are programs such as Enrich LA. Enrich LA is an organization that is trying to promote gardening and fresh foods in local low income public schools. In order to promote this idea they are building gardens in schools located throughout the city. The gardens are used for planting a variety of plants with a focus on seasonal fruits and vegetables. Garden rangers from the program are providing outdoor lessons for the students throughout the year. Students are allowed to be actively involved with the garden. They take roles in sifting the soil, planting and caring for the plants throughout the year. Teachers and
garen rangers together teach the students about good soil, climate change, seasons, insects and the items being planted. Enrich LA also conducts community builds where they invite families in the surrounding neighborhoods to take active roles in building new gardens. This program will essentially raise children's and families awareness to fresh foods. It will also introduce gardening techniques to children in hope that they can carry them out in their own homes. Enrich LA can help increase garden education in children while promoting healthy living and help decrease rates of obesity or poor health. Enrich LA is helping to address this issue by involving students and adults in a community effort to maintain sustainable gardens. In involving the entire community they are raising awareness throughout families. It is significant in these areas to incorporate these families because these neighborhoods are filled with fast food and little room to grow natural foods. As previously mentioned, less than 20% of adults are consuming five fruits or vegetables per day. This program will help encourage people to consume more fresh produce. It will be encouraging because it involves them and also makes it more easily accessible which a problem in these neighborhoods. It will not be as costly to have fresh tomatoes pulled from a garden compared to organic tomatoes that are store bought. Enrich LA overall will help address this nutrition problem by providing access to fresh foods and nutrition knowledge. Evaluation The intervention to address nutrition related problems in the community through Enrich LA can be evaluated by conducting student opinion surveys as well as game styled challenges. These surveys and challenges will help to measure the students and families knowledge in the area of gardening and fresh produce before, throughout and after the program. Prior to the program, students will be given a questionnaire to determine what they do or do not know about fresh
foods and healthier choices. Throughout the program challenges such as mini quizzes can be done to determine what they have learned while participating in gardening activities. After two to six months students can be given the same questionnaire as before to help determine if they have increased their knowledge throughout the program. In order to make sure that this intervention is working, the surveys and results from challenges can be collected and reviewed by the program director along with garden rangers who interact with the students directly. Depending on results these individuals can determine if the curriculum in the program needs to be modified to either maintain its level of teaching or increase it so that students can learn more. They can place special focuses in areas that surveys indicate need improvement. These reviews will help to make the intervention more productive and efficient while ensuring their work is impacting the community and their needs.
References El Sereno. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/el-sereno/#income Fielding, J. (n.d.). Key Indicators of Health. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/wwwfiles/ph/hae/ha/keyhealth.pd Los Angeles, CA (zip code 90032) real estate - home value estimator and recent home sales. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.city-data.com/real-estate/los- ANGELES-CA-90032.html Searching for Healthy Food:The Food Landscape in California Cities and Countries. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/.../los_angeles_county_fact_sheet.pdf