A Community We Support: San Miguel Viejo
Background
The Feed the Hungry San Miguel kitchen in the community of San Miguel Viejo has been in operation since 2003. During school year 2023-2024, 84 children at the Benito Juárez elementary school will be offered a hot, nutritious lunch every school day. Purified water is also delivered to the schools for meal preparation and consumption by students and teachers.
Location Statistics
The community is located 3 kilometers from the Feed the Hungry Center. The most recent INEGI census (2020) reported a San Miguel Viejo population of 833 men, women, and children, residing in 162 households. The employed population over 12 years of age was 46%. Children 14 years of age and younger made up 32% of the population. Among adults, the illiteracy rate was 6% and the average level of schooling completed was 7 years.
Nutrition Report School Year 2022-2023
For the latest Nutrition Report, staff nutritionists assessed 69 students through height, weight, and body fat measurements.
The students measured in San Miguel Viejo showed 65% of normal cases, with a tendency towards a nutritional status of overweight and obesity, and a significant number of children with moderate malnutrition.
During the physical examination of underweight children, we observed depigmentation of the skin, severe dental caries, and missing teeth. Signs of depigmentation of the hair in some areas, with brown to reddish tones, was mainly due to inadequate protein intake.
| Condition | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Obese | 3% |
| Overweight | 4% |
| Risk of overweight | 16% |
| Normal | 65% |
| Light underweight | 3% |
| Moderate underweight | 9% |
| Severe underweigh | 0% |
Some of the obese, overweight, and nearly overweight children do not eat the food in the cafeteria, as they do not like the amount of vegetables contained in the menus. Clinical signs among this population were observed such as skin depigmentation, dry hair, severe caries, as well as acanthosis nigricans, a characteristic sign of insulin resistance, mainly due to high carbohydrate consumption. The children reported a high consumption of sweets, industrial pastries, processed foods, and little physical activity. Most of the children present a lack of oral and personal hygiene.
Our goal is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, in and out of school, to at least three servings of fruit and three different servings of vegetables per day.
We will continue to discuss with parents the importance of recreational activities at home and raise parental awareness about the quantity and quality of food offered to children. Cooking and nutrition workshops for children and parents are offered regularly. School lunch menus change seasonally and are adapted to provide the balanced meals the children need.
This school needs a sponsor! Learn how you can make an impact as a Kitchen Angel.
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