In ten Syracuse-area churches, fellowship event menus have deliberately gone from ‘traditional’ to ‘transformational,’ thanks to the Genesis Health Project Network—a community faith-based initiative that promotes healthier lifestyles among African American families in the local community. The Genesis Project recently hosted a Church Food Preparers’ Workshop at the Brotherly Love Church of God in Christ, one of the ten coalition churches working collaboratively with The Genesis Project at Syracuse University, its Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition, and Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County. The Genesis Project’s primary goal is to educate African Americans on adopting healthier eating habits (i.e., healthier food choices, increasing whole grains, adjusting ethnic recipes, reviewing the food pyramid, increasing fruits and vegetables, controlling portion sizes and reading food labels).
For decades as long as most congregants can remember, summer picnics and year-round fellowship programs typically offered such items as fried chicken, potato salad, white bread, pastries, Kool-Aid and soda. Now these church kitchens are serving baked chicken, tossed salad, whole wheat bread, fruit, 1% milk, water, juice, coffee, and tea, with congregants are adopting new cooking behaviors for themselves and their families. This workshop was part of a multi-year demonstration project focused on reducing obesity and its related-health risks, and diabetes prevention and management among African Americans. Workshop participants were food preparers from the Genesis-participating churches within the inner-city of Syracuse. Students from the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics also participated in the workshop under the supervision of professor Luvenia W. Cowart and Betty Brown, a retired RN, as part of an on-going Genesis Health initiative to help prepare students for public health careers and work with vulnerable populations.
Kathy Dischner, registered dietitian, facilitated the four-hour interactive workshop. The workshop topics included: cooking without salt, grilled fruits and vegetables, reducing sugar content, and the value of herb use in cooking seasonings. The workshop consisted of several segments. These included: interactive discussions about church food challenges and successes, problem- solving strategies, and interactive cooking demonstrations.
This program was funded by a three-year grant from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield of Central New York.