Collaborating With Alaska Native Communities to Design a Cultural Food Intervention to Address Nutrition Transition

Authors:
  • JNJennifer Nu
    Jennifer Nu
  • ABAndrea Bersamin
    Andrea Bersamin
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Abstract
Background: To address changing dietary patterns and declining dietary quality in indigenous communities, there is growing interest in implementing interventions that promote nutrient-dense, culturally important foods. Objectives: To describe formative research and an ongoing collaborative process to design a multilevel nutrition inter vention—Neqa Elicarvigmun or the Fish-to-School (F2S) Program—that reconnects students to their local food system in a remote Yup'ik community in Western Alaska. Methods: Qualitative data that explored the connection between salmon and well-being were collected and collaboratively reviewed with a community work group and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings were used to co-design the nutrition intervention. Lessons Learned: Formative research Thndings and ongoing collaboration between academic and community partners informed the Thnal intervention design. Conclusions: Because people's behaviors and interactions with culturally signiThcant foods are embedded in cultural perceptions and local contexts, it is important for nutrition interventions to address local perceptions of these foods.

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