NorthWest Initiative collaborates with community to create a healthier Lansing
May 15, 2023
Summary: Residents of Lansing are enjoying healthier children’s drink options at local restaurants thanks to the nonprofit NorthWest Initiative’s (NWI) collaboration with the Sugar Smart Coalition (SSC).
Challenge: Children’s drink options in restaurants may often include sugar-filled sodas, or “juice” options that have added sugar instead of 100% juice. These sugary options are not ideal for children’s health. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans promote nutrient-dense 100% fruit juices as a fruit serving that is a part of a healthy diet.
Solution: NorthWest Initiative (NWI) is a nonprofit that offers a wide range of programs to strengthen and support healthy living for people in the downtown, northside, and westside neighborhoods of Lansing. Part of NWI’s SNAP-Ed work focuses on policy, systems, and environmental change (PSE) initiatives, which are collaborative projects designed to assess and address community needs.
For example, one of NWI’s SNAP-Ed PSE initiatives is to improve healthy food and beverage choices. Through their work with the Sugar Smart Coalition (SSC), they reach out to local restaurant owners, managers, and staff to see if there is interest in collaborating on ways to reduce sugary drink consumption for children by changing the children’s menu offerings.
With SNAP-Ed funding from Michigan Fitness Foundation as the catalyst, the coalition’s first success was with the restaurant El Azteco West. El Azteco is a well-known family restaurant in the area. They opened their first location in East Lansing in 1976 and the West Lansing location opened in 1977. They introduced the community to traditional Mexican dishes with tortillas made fresh in their Lansing factory.
NWI staff approached El Azteco West Manager Maria Quiroz about making changes to her restaurant’s kids’ menu and she was interested in coming on board. Now, El Azteco offers 100% organic fruit juice on their children’s menu. As El Azteco’s new kids’ menu explains, 100% organic juice means that everything in the juice container comes from a fruit or vegetable with no added sugars or other ingredients.
NWI PSE Project Coordinator Jane Kramer worked with Quiroz on the menu changes and was thrilled with her enthusiasm. She says Quiroz researched 100% juices and had her own kids test them. El Azteco then updated their menu with the new beverages and even added colorful posters at the entrance to the restaurant and in select areas of the dining areas to highlight the offerings.
“Through our SNAP-Ed work, we are teaching people how to live healthier lives across the age span. We’re working in with other organizations, in schools, and community settings including restaurants. Our goal is to improve the overall health of our community,” said NWI Executive Director Peggy Vaughn-Payne.
Sustaining success: As NWI approaches more restaurants about changing their menus to offer healthier options, they can use El Azteco West’s menu and poster as an example of what is possible.
Also, as a part of NWI’s PSE work, parents and guardians from two elementary schools were invited to provide feedback regarding El Azteco’s new children’s menu and if they would support other restaurants adding healthy default drinks to their menus. The discussion also sought to explore specific ways NWI, and the Sugar Smart Coalition, could facilitate that change in a way that honored their wants and needs as parents and guardians.
Because they integrate community voices to inform their work, NWI’s mission to strengthen the health of the residents in the neighborhoods they serve is made stronger.
