Healthy + Happy #25: Honoring Black Changemakers

Since 1976, the U.S. has recognized February as Black History Month, but since long before that, African Americans have shaped and inspired the world of youth nutrition and movement. Today, we spotlight and share the work of several  influential African American activists, politicians, public health officers and medical professionals:

Food as activism.

• Freda DeKnight (1909–1963), Ebony Magazine’s first food editor (1944), was a pioneer for African-American cooking. In her bestselling cookbook, A Date With A Dish, she challenged the stereotypes of Black cooking, melding cultures with local ingredients. 

• Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) is known for leading at least 13 trips via the Underground Railroad to rescue 70-plus enslaved people. What most people don’t know about were Tubman’s culinary and foraging skills.

• Georgia GIlmore (1920–1990) started the “Club From Nowhere”, a group that prepared and sold meals to raise money for the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

Power of produce.

• Booker T. Whatley (1915–2005) was a pioneer of sustainable agriculture, and, in the 1960s, he started “clientele membership clubs” that allowed members to pick and pay for fresh produce. Sound familiar? Today, we call this Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

• Food activist Karen Washington coined the term “food apartheid” (to replace “food desert”) and is working to address social inequalities and injustices within the food world, winning a James Beard Leadership Award for her work in 2014. 

• Ron Finely transforms food deserts to food sanctuaries and is envisioning a world where “gardening is gangsta.” Want to learn more? Take his masterclass.

Politics.

• Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005), the first African American woman to be elected to Congress (196), helped create the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), ensuring that low-income mothers could have access to free, healthy food for their young children.

• The Black Panther Party provided free breakfast to children before school, feeding thousands of kids from 1969 into the 1970s, and their breakfast program served as a model for the current federal free breakfast program.

Medicine.

• Biochemist Marie M. Daly (1921–2003), the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, uncovered the connection between high cholesterol and clogged arteries. 

• Dr. Charles Drew (1904–1950), often called the “Father of the Blood Bank,” created the national blood bank and, later, mobile blood donation stations (a.k.a. “bloodmobiles”). 

• The knowledge carried by Onesimus, a North African man kidnapped and sold into slavery, was responsible for the eventual eradication of smallpox. 

• Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett’s Moderna mRNA vaccine earned her a TIME Magazine Hero of the Year designation.

In the News

School food round-up.

• On Wednesday (February 8), U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack hosted a virtual panel discussion on advancing children’s health through school meals, including the proposed changes to the School Nutrition Standards. 

• A new federal bill would require food allergy training for school nutrition workers. Life Time Foundation’s new free software, Green Onion, allows school districts and purchasing cooperative users to identify over 600 possible allergens in school food products, as well as identify ingredients of concern. 

• The Chef Ann Foundation just announced their 2023 Fellows, the next generation of diverse leaders in scratch-cook school food operations.

Feel-good stories.

• In honor of National Girls & Women in Sports Day on February 1, we’re highlighting Life Time Foundation grantee, Girls on the Run, which helps more than 2 million girls build confidence and leadership through running and activities that spark joy. 

• Glen Lake Elementary School (Hopkins, Minnesota) didn’t have an accessible playground, so a 5th grade classroom organized a campaign to build one. Want to help? You can donate to their efforts here.

• Linking literature with physical activity can enrich academic lessons and encourage students to try new things. A couple examples:

• Ghost, written by acclaimed children’s author Jason Reynolds, provides a narrative around track and running that provides a bridge between curriculums. 

• Another Life Time Foundation grantee, America SCORES New York, combines soccer and literacy to build teamwork and youth voice. 

Events, Happenings and Opportunities

• More than 225 schools across the U.S. are Riding for Focus, implementing this middle-school based PE program that provides cycling education and access to 50,000 students annually. R4F provides participating schools with everything they need to get their 6th-8th grade students riding, including bikes, helmets, curriculum and intensive teacher training. Register for a webinar to learn more and/or apply here.

• On May 17-18, the Aspen Institute is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Project Play at the Project Play Summit 2023. Registration now open.

• Baltimore City Public Schools has a vacancy for a Dietician II for Food and Nutrition Services.
  

Have other national events or grant opportunities you'd like us to highlight? Let us know.