Hunter College students and faculty are working to increase understanding of important issues relevant to residents of East Harlem and beyond through interdisciplinary study, community programs and events.
During the 2017–2018 school year, the Center partnered for a second year with PS 7 in Harlem and Edible Schoolyard NYC, a nonprofit organization that works to ensure all children are educated and empowered to make healthy food choices. Through this partnership, the Center implemented a 15-week nutrition education program in the school lunchroom for the elementary school students. Using “short-burst” nutrition lessons, the Center provided information to children in a fun, engaging and experiential manner. The curriculum was based on existing research-based nutrition education resources but was adapted to a cafeteria setting. The program was administered by Hunter College nutrition students — an innovative component of the program that not only connected university students to their local community and provided them with an avenue for community service, but also enables the program to be expanded and replicated at universities across the city, state and country.
Project dates: 2016–ongoing
Now in its second year, the Fresh Taste for Seniors (FTS) program has partnered with the Corsi Senior Center in East Harlem to deliver healthy cooking demonstrations. The program developed culturally and age-sensitive, bilingual, nutritious recipes that were quick, affordable and accessible to seniors. The program used videos from a previous partnership with the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s Teaching Kitchen to “train-the-trainer,” providing guidance to other groups on how to conduct cooking demonstrations at their organizations. Their videos, recipes and all other program materials are available on the Center’s website as a resource for other community groups that wish to replicate the program. FTS aimed to increase the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy of seniors to prepare nutritious, affordable meals through education and hands-on demonstrations as well as promoting social engagement through peer-to-peer interaction and meal sharing.
Project dates: 2017–ongoing
The Food as Medicine Summit explores the greater topic of food as medicine via panel sessions that highlight specific disease areas such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Additional panels discuss how to incorporate wellness and healthy foods into treatment in communities impacted by poverty, and examin the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Project dates: 2017–ongoing
The New York City Food Policy Center hosts and coordinates the annual Big Apple Crunch event in East Harlem. The event brings together 250-300 children from the East Harlem community for a morning of fun and educational activities, and culminated in a record-breaking Big Apple Crunch. The event featured activity stations with apple art, games, tastings and nutrition education led by East Harlem organizations and small businesses including the Food Policy Center, Uptown Grand Central, the Hunter College Nutrition Club and more.
Project dates: 2017–ongoing
The Food Policy Center created a 2018 edition of its East Harlem Restaurant Guide to help the community eat healthier. The restaurant guide contains detailed information about each restaurant, along with a rating and a healthy eating index, which measures the healthfulness of each restaurant’s menu.
Project dates: 2018–ongoing
In early 2018 the Food Policy Center released a report outlining findings from a short survey conducted in East Harlem and the Upper East Side. That survey was designed to explore residents’ understanding of food insecurity issues, healthy food shopping and cooking behaviors, and awareness of relevant food policy issues. The goal of the survey and subsequent report was to better understand knowledge, attitudes and behaviors around food, and to inform policymaking that addresses food-related health inequities in New York City.
Project dates: 2018–ongoing
The three-year National Institute of General Medical Sciences/National Institutes of Health mixed-methods study (SC2 GM121269-01, ending Year 1) examines the unmet needs and service-utilization of chronically-ill older adults in East and Central Harlem. The study is currently recruiting study participants from Health and Hospitals/Metropolitan Hospital, and Professor Gardner is working closely with physicians in their Palliative Care and Geriatrics Depts to identify barriers and facilitators to palliative care and pain management.
Project dates: 2018–2021