Refugee WomenHealthy Beginnings: Infant Nutrition
The Healthy Beginnings Program was developed to address high rates of iron deficiency anemia among refugee infants and young children in Clarkston, Georgia.
Families learning about feeding children healthy foods, including refugee mothers from Congolese, Afghan, and Burmese communities
From refugeewomensnetworkinc.org/healthybeginnings ↗About this program
Resources to help families learn about feeding children healthy foods. Videos and Cookbooks in your Language.
Data collected at Ethne Health, a clinic serving refugee families in Clarkston, show that 24.5% of patients aged 12 to 24 months have anemia based on hemoglobin testing, compared with a national average of 4.7%.
Sessions included a knowledge-sharing discussion, a community potluck featuring iron-rich dishes, and a cooking demonstration showing how to prepare iron-rich meals and distinguish healthy snacks from less nutritious options.
To understand whether Healthy Beginnings was working, we conducted a mixed-methods evaluation with 40 mothers from Afghan, Burmese, and Congolese communities, recruited through the Refugee Women's Network MothersxMothers, Wellness group, and Ethne Health Clinic. The share of participants who said they knew "a lot" about iron deficiency anemia and iron-rich foods rose from 22% to 74%.
Details
- Who
- Families learning about feeding children healthy foods, including refugee mothers from Congolese, Afghan, and Burmese communities
Run by
Social AdjustmentSocial Adjustment services are provided to help refugees assimilate into their new lives in the U.S. and to encourage self-reliance so that individuals and families can successfully navigate similar situations in the future.
Economic EmpowermentWomen’s Economic Empowerment services are provided to equip refugee and immigrant women with the knowledge and resources to become economically self-sufficient through employment, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.
Chefs Club$100 for catering services; $200 for private virtual cooking classChefs Club is an entrepreneurship development program supporting refugee and immigrant women's economic empowerment by addressing the barriers to starting food-based businesses, including access to extensive technical training and licensing.