Good Bowls: Empowering Communities to Achieve Good Food Access and Health Equity

摘要 新数据表明，那些患有肥胖症、糖尿病和心脏病等既往健康状况的人 感染 COVID-19 的风险显着增加，低收入人群和有色人种也是如此。 研究还表明，粮食不安全（无法获得负担得起的、有营养价值的食物）和贫困 饮食摄入量可能是造成这些人群健康差异的因素。失业、贫困、种族 少数民族身份和农村居住也是健康状况不佳的有力预测因素。需要提供可访问的 以及负担得起的健康食品选择，以支持高风险人群改善免疫系统功能 因此，随着大流行的蔓延，这一问题变得越来越紧迫。营养状况被认为起着关键作用 通过均衡饮食和某些营养素来预防、治疗和管理 COVID-19 增强免疫系统。然而，尽管对营养食品选择的需求变得更加迫切， 疫情导致食品行业大量失业、食品相关企业倒闭、餐馆流失 和中小型农民的机构市场，多余的农产品被浪费或捐赠给食品 银行/食品储藏室储存和分发大量易腐食品的能力有限。这些影响 极大地加剧了粮食不安全，1 特别是在少数民族和低收入人群中。 Equiti Foods LLC 正在推进 Good Bowls，这是一个生产和分销平台，旨在提高食品的可用性 为小规模地区的低收入和少数民族人口提供健康、负担得起、当地生产、味道鲜美的冷冻食品 城镇和农村社区，同时还为农村小企业提供经济机会 社区。膳食以地中海饮食为基础，根据口味偏好和季节进行调整 美国东南部的食物供应情况（“中南饮食”）。 Equiti Foods 在 2019 年测试了地中海南部饮食 多项研究发现对低收入人群的有益健康影响以及广泛的可接受性 关于口味。第一阶段的行政补充将侧重于定制应用平台 当前的 COVID-19 影响了区域经济和商业环境。目标是帮助最大限度地减少 该流行病对健康差异人群的健康、财务和社会影响。具体目标包括：1) 与农村经济困难社区的三个确定的餐馆/餐饮服务商（包括一家黑人餐厅/餐饮服务商）合作 拥有和一名拉丁裔拥有）来测试 Good Bowls 模型； 2) 评估早期营养对顾客的影响 在粮食安全、饮食质量和健康食品知识/行为方面受到COVID-19的不利影响； 3） 将与 COVID-19 相关的健康信息纳入为当地社区量身定制的 Good Bowls 包装中。 如果成功，该项目将建立 Good Bowls 模式的可行性，该模式将： 1) 为小规模食品提供支持 生产者，振兴当地经济； 2) 防止因新冠疫情扰乱食品分配而造成的食品浪费 链条； 3) 为高危人群提供营养食品，以协助预防和管理 COVID-19。

Abstract Emerging data indicate that those with pre-existing health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, are at significantly increased risk of contracting COVID-19, as are low income and persons of color. Research also suggests that food insecurity (lack of access to affordable, nutritionally valuable food) and poor dietary intake are likely contributors to health disparities in these populations. Unemployment, poverty, ethnic minority status, and rural residence are also strong predictors of poor health. The need to provide accessible and affordable healthy food options to support improved immune system function to higher-risk populations has therefore become increasingly urgent as the pandemic unfolds. Nutritional status is believed to play a key role in the prevention, treatment, and management of COVID-19, with a balanced diet and certain nutrients serving to strengthen the immune system. Yet, even as the need for nutritious food options has become more urgent, the pandemic has led to enormous food industry job loss, closing of food-related businesses, loss of restaurant and institutional markets for small to mid-sized farmers, and excess produce being wasted or donated to food banks /pantries where the capacity to store and distribute this volume of perishable food is limited. These effects have dramatically amplified food insecurity,1 particularly in minority and low income populations. Equiti Foods LLC is advancing Good Bowls, a production and distribution platform to increase availability of healthy, affordable, locally-produced, good-tasting frozen meals to low income and minority populations in small towns and rural communities, while also providing economic opportunities for small businesses in rural communities. The meals are based on the Mediterranean diet adapted for taste preferences and seasonal availability of food in the southeastern US (“Med-South Diet”). Equiti Foods has tested the Med-South diet in multiple studies and found beneficial health impacts in low income populations as well as broad acceptability regarding taste. This Phase I administrative supplement will focus on tailoring the platform for application in current COVID-19 impacted regional economies and business environments. The goal is to assist in minimizing the health, financial and social impacts of the pandemic in health disparity populations. Specific aims include: 1) work with three identified restaurants/caterers in rural economically distressed communities (including one Black- owned and one Latinx-owned) to test the Good Bowls model; 2) assess early stage nutrition impact on customers adversely affected by COVID-19 in terms of food security, diet quality and healthy food knowledge/behaviors; 3) incorporate COVID-19-related health messaging into the Good Bowls packaging tailored to local communities. If successful, this project will establish feasibility of a Good Bowls model that will: 1) empower small scale food producers, invigorating local economies; 2) prevent food waste resulting from COVID-disrupted food distribution chains; 3) provide at-risk populations with nutritious food to assist in prevention and management of COVID-19.