Food Literacy Partners Program

The Food Literacy Partners Program was developed to train health professionals and community volunteers and to provide culturally appropriate food, nutrition, and physical activity education to adults and children in rural areas who are eligible for food stamps. This strategy is designed to improve health literacy in a community with limited nutrition resources and is modeled after a successful volunteer, two-way self-improvement program. Volunteers enhance their own knowledge and skills and enthusiastically share that knowledge and skills in service to their community. The program was developed in response to an identified local need and a funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is based on supportive literature on health literacy. This article describes the Food Literacy Partners program.