Funded by the Department of Agriculture's Food Stamp Program, through the California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Living, the "Chinese 5 A Day Project" promotes the U.S. go1vernment's nutritional guidelines, which call for at least five servings of colorful fruits and vegetables per day and 60 minutes of daily physical activity. California already has Latino and African American 5 A Day campaigns, designed to reach low-income families where they live, shop, worship, work and play. A pilot project geared toward Asians in California will begin next year.
San Francisco is ahead of that statewide effort, with unveiling October 4 of a cookbook developed by chef Martin Yan and Catherine Wong, nutrition manager of the Chinatown Public Health Center.
Statewide, more than 40 percent of Asian American men and 30 percent of women are overweight.
Although past campaigns in the city have promoted healthy eating habits for Chinese, this project shifts the focus from the individual to the Asian community. The project has partnered with 19 local groups, including the Chinatown Youth Center, St. Mary's Chinese Day School, Self Help for the Elderly, and Portola Family Connections. Workshops. (Source: Vanessa Hua, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 5, 2005).