I’m so happy to have Cara Elio on my blog today. She has been a key program leader and innovator in nutrition education, preventative health, and wellness for the last decade. As a dietitian, Cara thrives to pioneer innovative and highly effective programs that target health education in underprivileged communities. One of the really cool things that she does is to provide nutrition education in LA farmers markets. Cara received her undergraduate degree in 2005 at Saint Louis University and recently completed her Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2013 where she was inspired by the rich knowledge of her cohort from 67 different countries around the world. Cara now resides in Los Angeles, California, proud to be an integral player in the healthy eating revolution in Southeast LA.
What is SEE-LA’s nutrition education program all about?
SEE-LA’s nutrition education program name is: The Pompea Smith Good Cooking/ Buena Cocina Nutrition Education Program. In 2014, SEE-LA received a 3 year USDASNAP-Ed grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention (NEOP) Program to conduct and expand its Pompea Smith Good Cooking/ Buena Cocina Nutrition Education Program within the Southern Los Angeles Area. SEE-LA’s program is part of a larger network of organizations providing comprehensive nutrition education and physical activity promotion across Los Angeles County. Our program operates under a unique model creating a food and education hub for the communities within SEE-LA’s Watts Healthy Farmes’ Market and Central Avenue Farmers’ Market.
We host free interactive nutrition education and cooking classes onsite during market hours. Nutrition education focuses on building basic skills that enable participants to confidently make healthy nutrition choices. Topics include MyPlate, label reading, expanding knowledge of the benefits of fruits and vegetables, and developing a deeper understanding of sugars, fats, and salt in our daily diets. We close each class with a recipe demonstration that illustrates the key points of the day’s lesson. Fresh local produce from our farmers is incorporated to create simple nutritious meals for all skill levels. Once complete, participants can re-create the day’s recipe at home by purchasing produce from the market. Participants that receive CalFresh benefits also have the opportunity to double their market spending with our Market Match incentive program.
The Pompea Smith Good Cooking/ Buena Cocina Program served over 1,000 community members in its first year. In its second year it has already served over 3,000 individuals and has begun to expand its services to school parent centers and libraries.
What classes are available to the public in LA?
SEE-LA provides its ongoing 7-series nutrition education classes every Thursday at the Central Avenue Farmers’ Market located at 4301 S. Central Ave, and every Saturday at the Ted Watkins Park/ Watts Healthy Farmers’ Market located at 1335 E 103rd St. Participant referrals to these locations are welcome at all times & we are more than happy to accommodate community and parent groups at these locations with advanced notice.
Class Description:
Our classes are provided in a 7-class series offered in Spanish or English. The format is 45 minutes of nutrition education and 15 minutes food demonstration and tasting. Class topics are as follows:
Lesson 1: MyPlate Basics
Lesson 2: Yummy Fruits & Vegetables!
Lesson 3: The Low-Down on Fat
Lesson 4: The Low-Down on Sugar
Lesson 5: The Low-Down on Salt
Lesson 6: More on Label Reading
Lesson 7: Getting all the Calcium You Need
We are also able to provide our classes or host a table at events to a limited number of organizations per year.
What is the mission of the SEE-LA program?
SEE-LA’s purpose is to build sustainable food systems and promote social and cultural activities that benefit both low-to-moderate income residents of Los Angeles while also supporting California small- and mid-sized farms and local small businesses.
What are the main programs available through SEE-LA?
Market Match: A program we provide at 5 of our Farmers’ Markets. This incentive matches customers’ federal nutrition assistance benefits, like CalFresh and WIC, up to $10 to spend on fruits and vegetables. Both markets that host our nutrition program also have Market Match.
What is your role within the SEE-LA program and the farmers market?
I am the Director of the Nutrition Education program and I work symbiotically with the farmers’ markets that host our nutrition classes.
Are more Registered Dietitians involved with famers market or is this a new trend?
The Good Cooking program is very unique. I’ve personally not seen RD’s involved in the same way that our program is. I’ve seen RD’s participate in markets by setting up booths such as “Ask the Dietitian” sponsored by LA County Department of Public Health to be available for patron’s nutrition questions. For those RD’s that have more of a culinary prowess, they also utilize the market to promote their healthy cooking skills. More frequently, I’ve seen RD’s be avid promotors and patrons of Farmers’ Markets forging bonds with farmers and tying links to community members, schools, and clients.
As a Registered Dietitian, how do you see the SEE-LA program improving the health of the community?
Two-fold: Directly and through a trickle effect. The Peer-to-Peer model for teaching these classes can contribute to a greater reach of this program as compared to a more standard model of nutrition education where you have the nutrition expert/ RD teaching the classes.
What’s in store for the SEE-LA program in the future?
Our program has partnered with a corner store in the Watts community to implement healthy changes within the store. Some of those changes over the next 6 months will include highlighting the nutrition benefits of foods, assuring easy product placement to promote healthy choices, and connecting the store with farmers from our market so they can source local, fresh produce. We hope to connect with more stores to continue corner store conversions in other areas of south Los Angeles as well.
How can people or organizations get involved with SEE-LA? Do they need to be local?
We typically have about 10 vendors and producers each week and are always looking to provide more variety for our customers. If anyone is interested in becoming a vendor, they can check our website, SEE-LA. Anyone can visit the market and attend the free classes. Watts Healthy Farmers’ Market is on Saturday (10:00 A.M. 2:00 P.M.), Central Avenue Farmers’ Market is open on Thursday (10:00 A.M. -2:00 P.M.).
Where can people go for more information on the county’s Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention programs?
What is your favorite recipe from the SEE-LA classes?
It is really hard to choose but this Squash Salsa is one of my all-time favorite recipes because it highlights the beautiful and colorful produce from the farmers’ market. It pops with color and flavor, boosts an incredible nutrition profile and can be used as the main dish or as a delicious side.
