wfn.org | Produce market in church basement targets obesity

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 19, 2004  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-AA{067}

NOTE: A UMTV report and Web-only video stills are available with this report
at umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Feature
By Amy Green*

You won't find hamburgers and hot dogs at this market, only fresh produce and
an army of researchers ready to show you how to prepare a healthy meal. 
 
Fed up with advising residents of north St. Louis to eat better yet knowing
they don't have the resources to do it, religious leaders have joined with
business people and St. Louis University researchers to open the Garden of
Eden, a produce market in the basement of Union Memorial United Methodist
Church. 
 
The market opened last year with a grant of nearly $500,000 from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. It was designed to offer the low- and
middle-income community a healthy alternative to fast food by providing fresh
produce at low prices, along with help preparing it. Now many look to the
market to provide jobs and bring the community together in a common cause.
 
"It's one thing to tell people to eat better, and it's another thing to tell
them to eat better and we're going to provide you with some resources to do
that," says Orvin Kimbrough, executive director of the Interfaith Partnership
of Metropolitan St. Louis, which helped open the market.
 
The CDC grant funding the Garden of Eden is among 25 awarded to communities
across the country to promote locally based solutions to health problems.
Other communities are addressing drug and alcohol abuse, asthma and suicide
prevention. 
 
Studies show that while 23 percent of Americans are overweight, the obesity
rate for blacks is among the highest at 30 percent. St. Louis University
researchers hope to improve that rate among urban blacks by giving them the
food and recipes they need to eat better. 
 
For example, supermarkets often cut their produce if it doesn't sell before
it spoils - a concern considering the cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
other illnesses that could be addressed with a better diet, says Beth Baker,
associate professor of community health at St. Louis University. In north St.
Louis, supermarkets have virtually left the area altogether, she says.	
 
"Grocery stores are leaving the area, and fast-food restaurants are
maintaining or even growing," she says. "It makes it so that individuals who
want to make changes don't have access to do so." 
 
At the Garden of Eden, shoppers browse in an atmosphere reminiscent of a
farmer's market. Researchers give nutritional guidance and survey shoppers on
their eating habits. Other workers, both staff and volunteer, show how to
prepare healthy meals, give samples and offer recipes. Teens bag groceries,
earning gift certificates to the local mall. 
 
The greens are most popular, says Rose Goodrum, 72, who has worked at the
market since it opened. 
 
"They marvel over our greens. Our vegetables they say are first-rate, better
than Dierbergs or Schnuks," she says, referring to other local supermarkets. 
 
Besides the CDC and St. Louis University, the market is supported by Union
Memorial United Methodist Church, the Interfaith Partnership and three other
churches. Owners of other local supermarkets have helped train the staff,
teaching how to select good produce and organize displays. One supermarket
owner invited the staff to shadow him at his job. 
 
The Rev. Lynn Mims, pastor of Union Memorial, says the church got involved
because the effort was a solution to "organizations (that) come into poor
communities ... and do research and never leave anything behind."
 
Researchers plan to present what they learn from the Garden of Eden at a
community forum with local health and minority leaders, politicians and urban
planners, Baker says. They also will use their surveys to keep tabs on the
community's eating habits over time. 
 
The goal is to inspire the community to work together toward improvement, she
says. 
 
"We're building community relations and doing community development so people
begin to feel more connected to their community," she says.  
 
Goodrum says she sees it happening already. The teens who work at the market
are learning manners and job skills, and shoppers are enjoying more healthy
food, she says. 
 
The Garden of Eden, open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, draws about 50 shoppers
a week. Organizers hope eventually to expand to other locations and address
the same issues throughout St. Louis. 
 
"You're providing job skills," says Jennifer Strayhorn, who helps run the
market. "You're providing communication skills. You're providing nutrition.
And you're networking congregations across the community. So it's really,
really exciting.'' 
# # #
*Green is a free-lance writer based in Nashville, Tenn. 

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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