CalFresh Healthy Living, UC In Action!
In 2024, CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL), UCCE Los Angeles, and the Hope Through Housing Foundation established a collaborative effort to promote healthier lifestyles among seniors. This partnership provided nutrition education and wellness classes to Oaks on Florence, an affordable senior housing community in Bell, California. The community primarily serves Hispanic older adults, many of whom face barriers such as limited access to healthy food, chronic health conditions, and a lack of culturally relevant nutrition education.
"Taking the class helped me a lot. I learned to eat healthy, to eat fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, cereals, and quinoa. I want to go back to school and get plenty of exercise every day." – Food Smarts Participant at Oaks on Florence
Led by CFHL, UCCE Los Angeles Community Education Specialists, the interactive sessions engaged 12 senior residents through the Food Smarts curriculum, a hands-on program that encourages participants to share experiences, explore new concepts, and adopt sustainable, healthy habits.
Despite the educational success of the classes, access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables remained a significant challenge for many residents. To address this, in 2025 the partnership expanded to include a farm stand provided by GrowGood Farm, a local urban farm, that brings low-cost fresh, seasonal produce to underserved communities.
The combination of nutrition education and access to affordable food made a lasting impression:
This partnership demonstrates how community-based collaborations create meaningful change. By pairing culturally responsive education with access to healthy, affordable food, programs like this promote food security and a higher quality of life for our senior communities.
"I learned to make changes: I eat more fruits and vegetables and check the labels of the foods I buy. I didn't do it before, but I learned that eating healthy is very important for my health." – Food Smarts Participant, Oaks on Florence
*Extracted from CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Active News Beet June 16, 2025