“Nutrition is the key to determining your quality of life, it is part of health and well being,” said Terri Lisagor, assistant professor of Family and Consumer Science at California State University Northridge.

By MARINA D. SANDOVAL
EL NUEVO SOL

In recent years, the economy has been unstable and it has especially affected low-income families. Unfortunately an outcome has resulted in families eating poorer quality diets, leading into increased obesity and many other negative health consequences.

“Nutrition is the key to determining your quality of life, it is part of health and well being,” said Terri Lisagor, assistant professor of Family and Consumer Science at California State University Northridge.

One of the many concerns is the lack of knowledge and access to inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables there are too low-income families. Latinos have been making a major shift for towards more processed and refined foods, which ultimately affects health overtime. Lisagor, said that in the last 30 years childhood obesity has tripled. Parents as role models need to realize that they are competing with the media and the heavy advertising for processed food.

“If we look back to what your great grandmother and maybe my grandmother use to eat, it was ‘what did we have available to us’,” said Lisagor. “It was more of the fruits and vegetables and whole grains and certainly a lot less processed food.”

There are varying ways for families to access fresh produce, supermarkets, farmers markets, CSA programs and picking your own. Underwood Farms in Moorpark, California was once a small produce stand and they mainly grew canned tomatoes for Hunt’s. After being left with an abundant amount of excess tomatoes, they chose to put up an ad in the Los Angeles Times and invite people to come out and pick tomatoes off their fields. In 1994 Underwood Farms opened up to becoming a pick your own farm all year through with different fruits and vegetables through out each season.

“You get the produce fresh, you can choose what size you want, shape and you can sample on site,” said owner, Craig Underwood, Underwood Farms.

Walking into Underwood you come across a produce stand filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Upon approaching the field you come across a small storage unit that resembles a small farmhouse inside you have bags, plastic containers and a chart that shows you what fruits and vegetables are in season and how much they are per pound. Customers can also go onto the website and find a crop calendar giving you a general idea of what’s in season.  As you walk through the fields there are signs along the way in front of each crop showing if an item is ready to be picked or not, it gives detail on the item and the amount it is selling for.

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“People are usually happy to be out here with their family,” said Underwood. “Our operation is geared towards families with young children, we hope it becomes a family tradition.”

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According to Underwood  the prices are usually cheaper then what you find at a supermarket, it’s usually 30 percent less then the supermarket. Purchasing from the stand can be more expensive due to the added expense of labor and packaging.

Some supermarkets are known to have warehouses, once the produce has been picked up it is stored in a cooler. It can take up to one to two days for the items to be shipped and it then travels to the warehouse and is distributed back, so it could take up to four to five days for it to arrive to the local market, said Underwood. Underwood said,  that if the produce is being shipped to the eastern markets and it’s not traveling by air it could take up to a week or even longer. The flavor can be lost during this time but it depends on refrigeration, the fresher it is the better the flavor, he said.

“I have been coming for five years, it’s more fresh then when you buy it at a store,” said Veronica Garcia, Underwood customer. “You can pick and taste what you want, it just tastes more delicious.”

Garcia learned about Underwood through her in-laws and she comes 4-5 times a year and she always brings her children with her. Her children love to see the animals and they enjoy picking their vegetables. Garcia says that her children eat their vegetables more frequently when they pick them and they even eat them raw.

“We come every three weeks, we love the experience it’s just natural and not processed ,” said Claudia Quinteros, Underwood customer. “The flavor is different, the strawberries are sweeter compared to the ones at the store.”

For More Information:

Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU. : Oficina de Salud de las Minorías

Food Security and Agriculture: Economía Campesina

County of Los Angeles Public Health Services: Obesity on the Rise

Latino Nutrition Collection: Latino Living

historias similares en español: La importancia de comer fruta de temporada

 

Tags:  acceso a comida saludable Childhood obesity Craig Underwood CSA Eating Fresh El Nuevo Sol farmer’s markets Fresh Produce Latino Living Latino obesity Marina D. Sandoval Obesidad obesidad de la niñez Pick Your Own Salud de Minorías Terri Lisagor Underwood Farm