Evaluation of the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables and Socio-economic Status on a Native American Reservation in Kansas

Relocation from their native lands made drastic changes to the cultures and traditions of Native Americans, which ultimately changed their dietary habits and physical activity, is the leading cause of the high prevalence of obesity and obesity related diseases among these populations. To promote a healthy lifestyle, the objective of this project is to increase fresh fruit and vegetable availability through gardening  for an Indian tribe in northeast Kansas, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) through determining the best vegetable cultivars for  soils and climate of their reservation, mentoring, and culturally relevant gardening education. A pre-season workshop was held in Spring 2012 with 35 participants, to provide gardening advice. This paper reports the findings of the study conducted at the PBPN harvest feast in November 2012. A written questionnaire was developed to survey the consumption of fruits and vegetables, gardening experience, health status, physical activity, and the socio-economic status of the tribe. Out of 100 surveys distributed, 95 were returned composed of 15 pre-season workshop participants (WP) and 80 non-workshop participants (NWP). The mean numbers of servings of fruits and vegetables consumed were 1.68 and 1.92, respectively. Nearly 50% met the recommendation for fruit consumption (2+ servings/day) and 22% for vegetable consumption (3+ servings/day), but only 19% met both levels together. This is far below the targets set by the Healthy People 2010 objectives and needs to be increased. A major portion of the WP group (60%) were experienced gardeners with at least 5 years of experience compared to only 19% in the NWP group. The proportion with no previous experience in gardening in the NWP group was 46% and the major reasons for not gardening were “no land” (55%) and “no knowledge” (12%). By encouraging these groups to garden at the community garden and to attend gardening workshops, gardening activity and fruit and vegetable consumption in the reservation could be increased. In the tribe, 30% of the respondents were below the poverty threshold, compared to 14.3% for the entire nation and 27% for the American Indians and Alaska Natives, nationwide. The percentage of retired people in the tribe (27%) was also higher compared to the rates for the State of Kansas and the nation. These indices stress the importance and the potential of engaging these groups of people into gardening activities in the reservation.