Today more than ever we hear doctors and medical experts tell us that we need to eat better and exercise to stay healthy and even lower the risk of getting gravely sick with COVID-19.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, the leading causes of illness among Hispanics are heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. The Hispanic population also has a higher rate of obesity than the non-Hispanic white population. Most of these leading diseases are preventable and food plays a huge role in getting and staying healthy. In order to help the Hispanic population thrive, stay healthy and live longer LULAC Iowa has partnered up with Vegan Outreach. Some Iowa residents probably heard of Vegan Outreach when the organization along with LULAC Iowa worked on distributing food to families affected greatly by COVID-19 and the Derecho storm. What you may not know is that Vegan Outreach is actually an international non-profit organization that also works to prevent violence against animals.
“We seek a future where animals are no longer exploited as commodities. As a grassroots organization, we focus on public outreach by sharing information and free educational resources with anyone interested in reducing animal suffering through their food choices,” Yuri Mitzkewich, Vegan Food Aid Manager, described Vegan Outreach and what they do. “Vegan Outreach’s primary focus is promoting our “10 Weeks to Vegan” guided challenge, which currently engages over 150,000 people per year. We provide follow-up support for people who go through the 10 Weeks challenge through Facebook groups and a vegan mentor program. We promote this challenge to a wide variety of countries and in multiple languages.”
Vegan Outreach makes it easier for people to learn to follow a plant-based diet. This organization, also, prides itself on the fact that they focus greatly on bringing help to immigrant and Native American communities. News stories about how LULAC was leading the fight to support meatpacking workers affected by the pandemic caught the attention of many at Vegan Outreach and they wanted to help LULAC to support the communities in need.
“Since most of our Vegan Food Aid projects are focused on helping immigrant and Native American communities, it made sense to reach out to local LULAC chapters to see what we could do to support their efforts,” Mr. Mitzkewich explained. “Thankfully, those local chapters helped us get vegan food out to these communities and the collaboration has been an enormous success.”
The partnership between LULAC Iowa and Vegan Outreach is already benefiting Hispanic communities in Iowa. Since June of 2020, they worked tirelessly with LULAC to provide food aid in those Iowa communities where the need is the greatest. Recently, their focus was on Cedar Rapids, Iowa as this region was affected greatly by the Derecho storm that ripped through the Midwest on August 10, 2020.
“Vegan Food Aid’s grocery distributions continue in Columbus Junction, Denison, and Cedar Rapids,” Mr. Mitzkewich gave an update on the near future plans. “September 25th we’ll give out groceries to families at the Economart store in Columbus Junction. The following Saturday, Sept 26th, we’ll be at Hy-Vee locations in Denison and Cedar Rapids. Vegan Outreach will continue to support as many people as possible in this area as long as our funding is available.”
Yuri Mitzkewich also invited residents of Columbus Junction, Denison or Cedar Rapids affected by COVID-19 and in need of food assistance to contact their LULAC local council representatives for more information about the food assistance and how to get it.
“There are no restrictions for those in need to get food through Vegan Food Aid. We may extend the project to more towns in the future,” he added.
While staying healthy and eating healthy, especially during a pandemic, is becoming a lifestyle change for many people, it is also painfully obvious that for some having enough healthy food is not a lifestyle choice, but a matter of survival. The new partnership between the international non-profit organization Vegan Outreach and LULAC, the oldest Hispanic organization in the nation, is an important step towards helping Hispanic communities to get and stay healthy through making better food choices. After all, the food we consume can either help us heal or hurt us.
“A bonus of the Vegan Food Aid project is that we’ve been able to spread awareness about the benefits of eating a plant-based diet. A plant-based diet can lower cholesterol and blood pressure, greatly reduce your the risk for type 2 diabetes, reduce your risk of cancer, and increase your fiber intake to healthy levels,” Yuri Mitzkewich stated the way food can affect one’s health and how important is this partnership between LULAC Iowa and Vegan Outreach. “It’s been wonderful to see that through this project; we’ve not only helped people in need but helped them by providing healthier food options during this very critical time.”
If you are interested in Vegan food Aid please, contact your local representative of the LULAC council or message the LULAC Iowa Facebook page so we can connect you with your local LULAC council. For more information about Vegan Outreach and to participate in the 10 weeks to Vegan guided challenge please go to veganoutreach.org There is information in Spanish available on this website.
Photo Tar Macias / Hola Iowa
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