3rd Annual Diabetes Cook Off Educates Community

Lee Edwards | As of Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The winning contestant at last year's Annual Diabetes Cook-Off hosted by Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago (IDCOSSC) receives a $500 grand prize. This year, the Cook Off, a free event, will be held at Washburne Culinary Institute, 740 W. 63rd St., Building U on Nov. 15, a day after World Diabetes Day.
The winning contestant at last year's Annual Diabetes Cook-Off hosted by Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago (IDCOSSC) receives a $500 grand prize. This year, the Cook Off, a free event, will be held at Washburne Culinary Institute, 740 W. 63rd St., Building U on Nov. 15, a day after World Diabetes Day.

In recognition of American Diabetes Month, Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago (IDCOSSC) is holding its 3rd Annual Diabetes Cook-Off where classic home recipes transform into high quality diabetes friendly meals. This year, the Cook Off, a free event, will be held at Washburne Culinary Institute, 740 W. 63rd St., Building U on Nov. 15, a day after World Diabetes Day.

During the Cook-Off, recipes are will be separated into four categories: side dish, entrée, dessert, and snacks. The dishes will be judged by a panel for a grand prize of $500.

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Yolanda O’Neal, MPH, Community in Class Coordinator, Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago.

“In observance of National Diabetes Month we are sponsoring our 3rd Annual Diabetes Cook Off. We decided to do it in the form of a cook off originally so people can know that healthy food can be both tasteful, fun and Diabetes friendly,” said Yolanda O’Neal, MPH, Community in Class Coordinator for IDCOSSC. “We’re asking community members to submit some of their recipes and allowing them to be modified to be Diabetes friendly and giving them the opportunity to present in front of a live judging panel.”

The Cook-Off will also serve as a resource fair where health, cooking and nutrition experts will answer questions about healthy cooking, nutrition, and diabetes friendly meal preparation.

Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago is a seven-year project funded by the Merck Company Foundation, through the Alliance to Reduce Disparities in Diabetes, and the National Institute of Health according to its website. The project engages patients, providers, clinics, and community collaborators to improve the health care and outcomes of African-Americans on the South Side of Chicago.

Diabetes effects the African American population at a disproportionally higher rate than other ethnicities throughout the United States. According to a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2011 Fact Sheet, African Americans are at 77% higher risk of becoming diabetic than non-Hispanic white Americans. In 2006, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health report revealed that African Americans with diabetes were 1.5 times more likely to be hospitalized and 2.3 times more likely to die from diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.

Type I diabetes causes the body’s immune system to attack sections of its own pancreas and Type II diabetes, the most common form, causes a decrease in insulin within the body which is often caused by being overweight and a sedentary lifestyle according to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.

For more information about Improving Diabetes Care and Outcomes on the South Side of Chicago email info@southsidediabetes.org or visit http://southsidediabetes.com/the-project/project-overview/.

For more information about American Diabetes Month visit http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/american-diabetes-month.html#sthash.CIOKOFq7.dpuf.

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