New Mexico State University
IN-3: Innovation 3

Connecting with Local Paso del Norte Community through Encouraging Healthy Eating Researchers at New Mexico State University are trying to find ways to encourage Mexican American families to eat more fruits and vegetables. The 18-month project is funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation in hopes of promoting healthy eating and active living among children, youth and families. Keeping ourselves healthy is a way of sustaining our lives. A professor at NMSU is doing just that in a local Hispanic community, Paso del Norte. Hispanics have tremendous health disparities because of obesity problems due to eating behaviors. The fundamental premise of this project is the idea that even though away-from-home eating (i.e., restaurants, cafeterias, food trucks, etc.) has increased over the years, 60% of all fruit and vegetable consumption is from the store and eaten at home. Collin Payne and his research team are approaching health via an inventive avenue. Currently, very little health intervention is done with grocery stores because stores assume that researchers at universities want people to purchase less food which isn’t good for their bottom line. In fact, this project actually increases a store’s profit because the profit is greater on fruits and vegetables than on other types of food. A benefit of eating fruits and vegetables increases the well-being of the individual purchasing healthier foods. The NMSU research team wants stores and consumers to benefit. In the sustainability world, we often speak of people, profit, and planet. This study shows how innovative thinking can actually benefit all three.