Engaging Youth for Food Justice in Latino Communities

This presentation will describe a food environment intervention focused on converting corner stores in East Los Angeles and Boyles Heights, California, which are neighboring Latino communities classified as food swamps in Los Angeles. The intervention was youth- and community-engaged and involved high school students as community liaisons and high school teachers who created food justice curricula, among other intervention components.

Speaker

Alex Ortega, Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Center for Population Health and Community Impact
Health Management and Policy, Center for Population Health and Community Impact
Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

Alex Ortega, Ph.D. is a health services and policy researcher, and he is professor and director of the Center for Population Health and Community Impact in the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. He is also a senior associate editor of Health Services Research (HSR), an official journal of AcademyHealth. Prior to his appointment at Drexel, Professor Ortega served on the public health faculties of UCLA, Yale University, and The Ohio State University. His research has been published in leading journals including Medical Care, Health Affairs, Pediatrics, and American Journal of Psychiatry. His research has been reported in National Public Radio, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sacramento Bee and other outlets.