The Hispanic population in the United States is growing, and with that, so are the rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in the population. Dietary acculturation, or the process of changing one’s diet from that of their home country to the diet of their new host country (USA), greatly contributes to the higher rates of chronic illness seen in the Hispanic population. Eating a balanced diet is a key factor in preventing obesity and chronic illness, but is often a challenge to this population due to barriers like language, socioeconomic status, availability, and taste of foods. La Salud es Sabrosa (LSES) is a 10-week nutrition education intervention that aims to make healthy eating more tasty and accessible to Hispanic families in St. Louis. Each week, senior Nutrition and Dietetics students collaborate with Spanish Student Interpreters to instruct cooking classes to Hispanic women and families. Each LSES lesson teaches participants a new recipe, the health benefits of the products being used, and ways to incorporate the foods into their daily lives. LSES addresses this population’s barriers to healthy eating by teaching lessons in Spanish, providing meal kits to create tasty recipes, and educating participants on how to shop and cook for themselves and their families. By empowering the Hispanic population of St. Louis  to cook healthy and tasty meals, they can better prevent the development of chronic illness for themselves and their families.

I would like to thank Dr. Maria Romo-Palafox for her dedication to her students and for her commitment to serving the community of St. Louis. I'd like to specifically thank her for encouraging my passions of connecting the field of nutrition to the Spanish language.