Childhood Obesity Prevention in South Carolina Communities

Abstract

COPASCities is using participatory ethnography to describe the process through which community organizations create food systems change for childhood obesity prevention. In Year 3, 2 organizations, The Organic Helpers and The Midlands Local Food Alliance, were catalyzed by the community organizing efforts of COPASCities. These grassroot groups engaged in issue campaigns that included. Increasing safe routes to school, coordination of building a community kitchen, and engaging farmers in advocacy to increase farm-to-school programs. COPASCities also continued an issue campaign around the expansion of the SNAP fruit and vegetable incentives program, Healthy Bucks. We conducted farmer surveys, photovoice with SNAP participants, participant observation, and key informant interviews to identify and advance issue campaigns, and develop our ethnographic case studies. We also offered our food systems change capacity building institutes to obesity prevention coalitions across the state, and provided trainings to the aforementioned community organizations in framing the message for effective organizing. We are developing ethnographic case reports to be analyzed and published as a book. This project has met all year 3 milestones and the process of community change being uncovered will be very helpful in generating healthy food systems for children in other communities.