title: Food for Life / Comida para la Vida: creating a food festival to raise diabetes awareness.
abstract: African and Latino Americans have higher rates of diabetes and its complications than White Americans. Identifying people with undiagnosed diabetes and helping them obtain care can help to prevent complications and mortality. To kick off a screening initiative, our community-academic partnership created the "Food for Life Festival," or "Festival Comida para la Vida." This article will describe the community's perspective on the Festival, which was designed to screen residents, and demonstrate that eating healthy can be fun, tasty, and affordable in a community-centered, culturally consonant setting. More than 1,000 residents attended the event; 382 adults were screened for diabetes, and 181 scored as high risk. Fifteen restaurants distributed free samples of healthy versions of their popular dishes. Community residents, restaurateurs, and clinicians commented that the event transformed many of their preconceived ideas about healthy foods and patient care.
authors.affiliation: New York University, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kristie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.forename: Willie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vance
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaskel
authors.forename: Guedy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arniella
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Horowitz
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D001364:Awareness; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D040241:Social Marketing; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology