Tougaloo College continues its efforts of minimizing barriers that limit the community from having a better quality of life. The collaborative development is a community-based program to increase local production and consumption of fruits and vegetables in the Mississippi Delta. The $6.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, in collaboration with the Tougaloo College's Reuben V. Anderson Institute for Social Justice, Delta Health Center, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks to lower rates of obesity and diabetes.
The ultimate goal is to move the needle of social change by empowering communities with a holistic approach to tackling high spending in healthcare costs by lowing high rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States. This partnership is a strategic initiative to elevate the community and the curriculum by improving research, culture, and the climate among Blacks.
“Tougaloo College's relationship with Tufts University dates back to the civil rights era, and the awarding of this grant to support a 21st-century health initiative in the Mississippi Delta of this caliber gives both institutions an amazing opportunity to renew our partnership in a meaningful way," said Dr. Daphne Chamberlain, the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Social Justice
The project focuses on three counties—Bolivar, Washington, and Sunflower—where over 65 percent of the 100,000 residents identify as Black or African American and about 30 percent live at or below the poverty level. More than 50 percent of women and 40 percent of men living in these counties have obesity, and the rate of diabetes is almost double the national average.
To see the full announcement: https://now.tufts.edu/2022/10/27/collaborative-food-medicine-initiative-launches-mississippi-delta
