HEALTHY LIVING
Metro Health’s ¡Por Vida! Program Expands to Promote San Antonio’s Healthiest Food Service Establishments By Haley Amick, MPH, CHES
How it Started In 2009, the ¡Por Vida! program was established when the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health) and the San Antonio Restaurant Association partnered and explored ways to work together to improve the health of the community. The collaboration quickly grew into what was called the Healthy Restaurants Coalition and included public health professionals, local restaurateurs, registered dietitians, local chefs, marketing professionals, educators and many others working to improve the health of our community. ¡Por Vida! meals follow strict nutrition criteria defined by registered dietitians, which include limiting calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars but are still loaded with great taste. If a customer or resident sees the ¡Por Vida! logo, then they know the meal is healthy. ¡Por Vida! is now housed within Metro Health and currently has 22 participating businesses that include restaurants, caterers, food trucks, worksites and school cafeterias. Expansion in 2022 Metro Health recognizes there are more ways the food and culinary industry promotes health than just offering healthy menu items. Community feedback collected from some of San Antonio’s highest needs zip codes has shown there is a need for healthy food options when dining outside the home. When local restaurants and stakeholders were surveyed about the ¡Por Vida! program, the feedback pointed to the importance of shifting our focus from what is “healthy” by simply offering nutritious menu options to a “whole health” or holistic approach. Metro Health’s Community Nutrition Program used this feedback to develop an expanded version of the ¡Por Vida! program, internally dubbed “Por Vida 2.0.” In 2022, Metro Health will launch this expanded ¡Por Vida! program as a tiered system that recognizes food service establishments not only for providing healthy menu items, but also for receiving high sanitarian scores, being tobacco-free, practicing environmentally friendly practices and giving back to the community. The expanded ¡Por Vida! criteria incorporate sustainability, community investment, local food systems, managing food waste, building up local businesses, providing resources to restaurant workers, donating food to food banks and promoting culinary mentorships. The new nutrition criteria support local food policies, such as menu labeling and ensuring kids’ menus do not offer sodas as default beverages. 22
SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • January 2022
Metro Health will also hire three new Community Health Workers dedicated to nutrition programs, who will work to ensure food service establishments in the South, East and West regions of San Antonio have the resources and technical assistance needed to join and thrive in the ¡Por Vida! program. The ¡Por Vida! expansion addresses several social determinants of health, including access to healthy food and drink, clean air, education/mentorships/job opportunities and better work benefits. This program helps to increase access to healthy meal options in the community, drives the community to food establishments that promote a healthy environment and supports businesses as they work to create an even healthier San Antonio. Partners in the Culinary Industry Metro Health has partnered with key organizations and initiatives in San Antonio to further promote ¡Por Vida! restaurants that go above and beyond to obtain gold certification. ¡Por Vida! goldtiered restaurants will also receive special recognition as being affiliated with the San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation. In 2020, ¡Por Vida! and Culinaria partnered to create the “¡Por Vida! Healthy Trail” which highlighted 10 local restaurants that promote tasty and healthy menu options while also giving back to the community and environment. Unfortunately, many of the partners on this trail have closed temporarily or permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the ¡Por Vida! Healthy Trail will be re-established and feature 10 of the new ¡Por Vida! gold-tiered partners. The goal of this program is to embrace and sustain the local community and culture by fostering a healthy environment through the rich, unique food and culinary industry in San Antonio. What to Look for in Early 2022 Metro Health’s expanded ¡Por Vida! Program will recognize local restaurants for creating healthy environments through good nutrition, sanitation, sustainability and community development. Restaurants, food trucks and caterers can score bronze, silver or gold medals for the work they do in these categories, which ultimately will provide residents healthy food options and healthy environments to dine in across the city. (The accompanying infographic outlines the criteria for restaurants earning bronze, silver and gold recognition).
