General Mills launches grassroots Health and Nutrition initiative to help Hispanic Families.

General Mills, Inc. (GMI) announced the launch of a unique, three-year, grassroots program especially developed to encourage Hispanic families and children to share tasty, healthy and nutritious food as part of their daily routine. Called Mente Sana en Cuerpo Sano (Sound Body, Sound Mind), it involves a 10-session curriculum created by The Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition.

The community-relations initiative was developed in conjunction with the Boston-based Latino Nutrition Coalition, part of Oldways, and General Mills’ Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition. It is being spearheaded by the company’s Hispanic marketing platform, Que Rica Vida. Together, they have created practical, culturally-relevant materials in Spanish and English, designed to show Hispanics how to combine the best of their healthy food traditions with the realities of modern American life. The program will be launched this month by 14 community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Northern California.

“As far as we’re aware, Mente Sana en Cuerpo Sano is a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive Health and Nutrition program especially tailored for the Latino community,” noted General Mills’ Community Relations Manager, Kimberley Bow Sundy. “We are thrilled to be partnering with numerous CBOs, most of which are affiliated to the National Council of La Raza, which General Mills has been supporting over the past 25-years.”

“General Mills’ Nourishing Lives initiative has favorably impacted the lives of thousands of consumers; we’re also delighted to be breaking new ground on that front with the Latino community, which currently faces numerous health challenges as a direct consequence of their eating habits,” said GMI Multicultural Marketing Director Rudy Rodriguez. “At General Mills, we’re committed to developing this Latino targeted program as a best practice initiative, and to empowering the Hispanic community with valuable and practical information to positively affect the daily lives of their families; this is a natural extension of our Que Rica Vida mission.”