A group of independent restaurants at the Mercado La Paloma south of Downtown are volunteering to provide certain nutritional information on their menus, getting a jump on many chain operations that are required by state law to do the same by July 1.
The state law requires any restaurant operations with 15 or more locations to provide the information on nutrition at the point of purchase, offering customers data such as the amounts of fat, sugar, salt, and cholesterol in regular menu items. Some restaurant chains have already complied with the requirement, while others are apparently waiting until the state-imposed deadline. The larger restaurant chains have until July of 2011 to provide customers with information on how many calories are in each menu item.
The smaller restauranteurs at Mercado La Paloma — located on the 3600 block of S. Grand Avenue — are exempt from the state law but have volunteered to make the information available. The effort comes under the banner of a "Smart Menu" campaign sponsored by the South L.A. Healthy Eating, Active Communities program, a unit of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Restaurants participating in the "Smart Menu" campaign, which is set to kick off on April 15 at Mercado La Paloma, include: Chichen Itza, Burger Plaza Grill, La Maison de la Creme, Mo Chica, OaxaCalifornia, Taqueria Vista Hermosa, and Thai Corner.
The Smart Menu campaign has provided the participating restaurants with the aid of a dietary nurse to help determine the nutritional data for individual menu items. The nutritional data will be accompanied by a consumer-education campaign to help diners "understand what nutritional factors mean and how to select meals accordingly," according to organizers of the effort.
Mercado La Paloma is operated by the non-profit Esperanza Community Housing Corp. as a center of restaurants and retail shops that occupy a once-vacant site on Grand Avenue. Among the goals of the development is to help restaurant owners who seek to make the move from selling food from carts or trucks to offering fare in a sit-down setting. Esperanza Community Housing Corp.'s management has also aimed to make Mercado La Paloma a center where local residents can find relatively fresh and healthy foods on restaurant menus.
Representatives of the effort said that they hope the Smart Menu will become a model for other organizations to adopt as a way to provide help for small, independent restaurants who want to participate in menu labeling.
Pri de Silva, a program coordinator for the South L.A. Healthy Eating, Active Communities program, said the effort at Mercado La Paloma also is a "positive step in addressing issues of obesity in South Los Angeles."
Obesity generally means that someone is extremely overweight. The condition is a growing concern because of the many health risks it poses. Medical research indicates that obesity is often a factor in diabetes, a disease with relatively high rates of incidence among Latino/Americans and African/Americans, ethnic groups that account for much of the population in South Los Angeles. Public health officials have recently estimated that 29% of Latino/Americans in Los Angeles County are obese, and 10% have some form of diabetes. Estimates are nearly identical when it comes to obesity rates and diabetes among the county's African/American population.
"By providing nutrition information to consumers when they are ordering, individuals are empowered to choose meals that fit their diet and lifestyle," said de Silva. "Although independent restaurants do not have to participate in menu labeling by law, this program will help them take an active role."
Nancy Ibrahim, executive director of Esperanza Community Housing Corp., said that the Smart Menu program is a "natural fit" for the restaurants at Mercado La Paloma.
More info:
Esperanza Community Housing Corp.
Mercado La Paloma
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Photo by LA Beez
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