by Susana Villegas
The Kitchenistas of National City, a documentary film on the struggles of families in National City struggling against diabetes, obesity, and other health conditions related to food, has been selected for viewing at the I Imagine Film Festival on October 8th in New York City and at the Global Health Film Festival on October 30-31 in London, England.
The I Imagine Film Festival takes place in New York City as an independent event that coincides with the United Nations General Assembly. All content selected by the I Imagine Film Festival will be made available to the United Nations News & Media Department for potential international programming with 90 global broadcast and media partners worldwide.
The first Global Health Film Festival will take place on October 30-31, 2015, at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, England. The Festival is held by the Global Health Film initiative (GHFi), a partnership of the Royal Society Medicine, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The Festival communicates stories, stirs emotions, inspires, encourages action, and redresses inequities in global health issues through film.
The documentary, by San Diego filmmaker Mary Ann Beyster, chronicles participants in Olivewood Gardens’ Cooking for Salud program. The program empowers National City families to take control of their health through the foods that they eat and prepare at home. Graduates of the program are the “Kitchenistas.” According to San Diego County’s Department of Health & Human Services, National City’s rate of diabetes hospitalization and mortality is 2.3 times greater than the County average.
“Olivewood Gardens is an urban oasis offering educational resources, and hands on gardening instruction to families. They are transforming the lives of our residents one ‘Kitchenista’ at a time and inspiring a new generation of health consciousness.” -Jacqueline Reynoso, President/CEO National City Chamber of Commerce and Olivewood Gardens Inaugural Board Member.
Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center is a gardening and nutrition education center in National City, California, that provides gardening, cooking, science, and nutrition education to children, families, and the community. The mission of the organization is to empower students and families from diverse backgrounds to be healthy and active citizens through organic gardening, environmental stewardship and nutrition education. More information is available at www.olivewoodgardens.org