Collaborating with Alaska Native communities to design a cultural food intervention to address nutrition transition

Abstract

Background: To address changing dietary patterns and declining dietary quality in indigenous communities, there is growing interest in implementing interventions that promote nutrient-dense, culturally important foods. Objectives: To describe formative research and an ongoing collaborative process to design a multilevel nutrition inter-vention—Neqa Elicarvigmun or the Fish-to-School (F2S) Program—that reconnects students to their local food system in a remote Yup’ik community in Western Alaska. Methods: Qualitative data that explored the connection between salmon and well-being were collected and collaboratively reviewed with a community work group and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings were used to co-design the nutrition intervention. Lessons Learned: Formative research findings and ongoing collaboration between academic and community partners informed the final intervention design. Conclusions: Because people’s behaviors and interactions with culturally significant foods are embedded in cultural perceptions and local contexts, it is important for nutrition interventions to address local perceptions of these foods.