By Emily Randall
Northeast News
Oct. 6, 2010

Gerardo Martinez estimates 30-35 percent of the Northeast Latino children he works with are overweight or obese.

Martinez is a children health educator with the Mattie Rhodes Center. Seeing the startling national statistics that 23 million children in the United States are overweight or obese, including 40 percent of Latino children, the Mattie Rhodes Center has instituted programs to combat the epidemic.

Martinez and Community Health Program Coordinator Xochitl Carrasquedo offer Salsa, Sabor y Salud, an educational program developed by the National Latino Children’s Institute, to families in Northeast. Through the eight-week program, adults and their 3- to 12-year-old children learn about healthful eating and activities.

“This is to tell people it’s not so boring to eat well, be healthy,” Carrasquedo said.

The children and adults learn the same lessons separately. The educators drive home the lessons of eating sensible portions, knowing the five food groups, being active and taking small steps to make change. The class promotes families eating together, as well as being active together, even if that just means taking a walk.

The Salsa, Sabor y Salud participants take field trips, as well, including to gardens to learn about growing produce, to grocery stores to learn about reading labels and choosing the right foods and to community centers to familiarize them with the facilities and equipment available for exercise.

“Some of them don’t speak English,” Carrasquedo said, “so they don’t feel comfortable going to the community centers.”

About 45 families have participated in Salsa, Sabor y Salud in its first year at Mattie Rhodes. Carresquedo and Martin also take the program into Gladstone and James elementary schools in Northeast, reaching an additional 200 children in the neighborhood.

Carresquedo said in a year’s time she has seen some results come out of the program in Northeast.

“We see it more in the parents,” she said, “in what they give their kids for sancks or for breakfast.”

By repeating the messages to both the children and adults in separate classes, Martinez said, there is added bonus of impact.

“Sometimes the kids remind the parents [to eat well], and the parents remind the kids,” he said.

Moving forward, Carresquedo and Martinez said they want to continue to grow the program. They are looking forward to promoting more gardening in the community as an inexpensive way to bring vegetables to Latino dinner tables. Martinez said he is currently on the lookout for vacant Northeast lots that could become community garden projects. He also plans to work with the pupils of James Elementary School to create a garden on the school grounds. Carresquedo said she is also working with the schools in the area to promote serving healthful foods during the school day, as well.