Many Latinos, especially more recent immigrants, benefit from a healthier lifestyle in their country of origin. There they ate more natural, less processed foods and had more physical activity in their daily lives. However, as these immigrants adapt to the mainstream U.S. culture, they often adopt a less healthy diet and a more sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, the language barrier many Latinos face can limit their access to the healthcare system because they have a limited ability to communicate their needs clearly with their doctors and other healthcare providers. To address these challenges and improve the health of Latinos, Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research (HACER) developed a pilot research and outreach project with the Latino community of St. James, MN, called Learning by Doing. This project involved in-depth interviews with nine Latinos residents of St. James and then two interactive nutrition workshops conducted in Spanish. The project was highly successful, and the results have encouraged HACER to expand the program to other Latino communities.

This innovative qualitative research project seeks to reduce obesity and diet-related diseases in rural Latino communities. The project seeks to improve dietary habits among Latino individuals in rural Minnesota by understanding the grocery shopping process of Latino families. The findings from in-depth interviews and behavioral observation research are the inputs to designing Learning-by-Doing workshops.