New program for healthy food choices

This class teaches immigrants from many countries to read food labels and understand what foods are healthy. These people are used to buying fresh foods every day and don't know how to buy, cook and eat the way we should. DP

The University program will help non-English speakers modify their diets.
By Riham Feshir

mndaily.com: University student Ilhan Omar is teaching a new kind of English-as-a-Second-Language class.

She works with Simply Good Eating for English Language Learners, a program designed to help non-native English speakers understand the meaning of food contents and make healthy choices.

"You can't really be teaching healthy eating unless you teach how to read a label," Omar said.

Figuring out the amounts of sugars, fats and calories in processed foods can be difficult for non-native English speakers, said food science and nutrition professor Joanne Slavin.

"People come to this country and the food sources are very different," Slavin said.

Omar's students come from countries that include Morocco, Mexico, Ethiopia, Iran and Russia.

Many immigrants are used to purchasing natural foods in their home countries, but when they move to the United States, it's cheaper to buy processed foods, Omar said.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, roughly one of every six immigrants and their U.S.-born children are living in poverty, a number that's 50 percent higher than the poverty rate for nonimmigrants and their children.

"They have such a limited income," she said. "When they go to the store, it's really hard to buy the fresh fruits and vegetables."
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