{"id":11367,"date":"2025-01-31T20:04:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T20:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/?p=11367"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:11:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:11:27","slug":"nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

New NIH funding supports Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities is led by Barbara Baquero. <\/em><\/p>\n

Nuestro Valor<\/em><\/strong>: Increasing healthier food access for rural Latino communities through a food retail intervention<\/strong>, a five-year research project, has received funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research<\/a> at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)<\/a>. The project, led by Dr. Barbara Baquero, associate professor at HSPOP and researcher at the Health Promotion Research Center, aims to address health inequities by increasing healthier food access for Latino communities in rural eastern Washington. <\/p>\n

A Vision for Change: <\/strong>Nuestro Valor<\/em><\/strong>‘s Mission<\/strong> <\/h1>\n

Nuestro Valor<\/em> (Our Value)<\/em> seeks to increase fruit and vegetable access, purchasing, and consumption in Latino communities across Yakima, Benton, and Franklin counties. Building on the success of El Valor, an evidence-based intervention, this project will adapt, implement, and evaluate the program to invest in small, Latino-owned food retailers, known as tiendas, in Spanish. By partnering with tiendas, the intervention will train employees, introduce structural changes, and harness social determinants of health to improve access to fresh produce. <\/p>\n

Beyond improving diet, Nuestro Valor<\/em> will focus on investing in Latino and rural communities by training community health workers (promotores<\/em>) to deliver the intervention and build capacity for public health students from diverse backgrounds, particularly those from eastern Washington. <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Nuestro Valor: Overview and Aims<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

To accomplish the work, the research team has partnered with the Northwest Communities Education Center\/Radio KDNA<\/a> and the Food Research Equity Collaborative (FrEsCo)<\/a>, a coalition of community leaders from community organizations focused on advancing food equity for Latinos and Rural Communities, seen below.<\/p>\n

\"Logos<\/figure>\n

A Milestone for Barbara Baquero<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

For Dr. Baquero, Nuestro Valor <\/em>represents a major milestone from years of dedication to advancing health equity for Latino communities. A bilingual and bicultural Latina immigrant, she has spent over a decade partnering with researchers, local leaders, and community to design and implement food retail interventions in underserved communities across the United States. From North Carolina to rural Iowa and now Washington state, her work has been fueled by a personal understanding of the structural inequities Latinos face and a commitment to leveraging community strengths for lasting change. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy motivation comes from partnering with community leaders and members who are dedicated to reducing barriers and increasing opportunities for Latinos,\u201d said Baquero. \u201cExpanding food access and promoting healthier diets have far-reaching benefits for physical, social, and emotional health. This research brings the community and an effective intervention together and has the potential to positively impact Latinos across the country.\u201d <\/p>\n

Advancing Health Equity and Community Investment<\/strong> <\/h2>\n
\n
\"Barbara<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The impact of Nuestro Valor<\/em> will extend far beyond healthier diets. By addressing the structural and social determinants of health, the project will generate critical evidence for adapting and implementing community-based interventions in rural settings. It will also provide an economic boost to the whole rural community.  <\/p>\n

Dr. Baquero\u2019s leadership underscores the UW\u2019s commitment to fostering health, particularly in underserved regions of Washington state. \u201cWe will continue working to scale up and sustain these types of interventions at the community level,\u201d said Baquero. \u201cOur goal is to advance equity, co-develop knowledge with the community, and reduce health disparities for underserved populations in the U.S.” <\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

The launch of Nuestro Valor<\/em> marks a pivotal step in advancing health equity for Latino communities. This new funding underscores Dr. Baquero\u2019s impactful work and exemplifies her dedication to collaboration, innovation, and building healthier futures for all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities is led by Barbara Baquero.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[111,20],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Health Promotion Research Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uofwhprc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Nuestro-Valor-feat-image-16x9-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kenzie Lock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kenzie Lock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kenzie Lock\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/1eff01757961e730c8f3dad02d59acb6\"},\"headline\":\"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\"},\"wordCount\":607,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Other Projects\",\"Team Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\",\"name\":\"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/\",\"name\":\"Health Promotion Research Center\",\"description\":\"Conducting Community-Based Research that Promotes Healthy Aging\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UW Health Promotion Research Center\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/UW-HPRC-logo2a-full-purple-web.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/UW-HPRC-logo2a-full-purple-web.png\",\"width\":2288,\"height\":239,\"caption\":\"UW Health Promotion Research Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uofwhprc\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/1eff01757961e730c8f3dad02d59acb6\",\"name\":\"Kenzie Lock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d88ead1c1acfab86f7b24e80061b637?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d88ead1c1acfab86f7b24e80061b637?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kenzie Lock\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/author\/kenzie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center","description":"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center","og_description":"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.","og_url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/","og_site_name":"Health Promotion Research Center","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uofwhprc","article_published_time":"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Nuestro-Valor-feat-image-16x9-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kenzie Lock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kenzie Lock","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/"},"author":{"name":"Kenzie Lock","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/1eff01757961e730c8f3dad02d59acb6"},"headline":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0","datePublished":"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/"},"wordCount":607,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Other Projects","Team Updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/","url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/","name":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0 - Health Promotion Research Center","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-31T20:04:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-03T01:11:27+00:00","description":"Nuestro Valor, a new project led by Barbara Baquero, increase access to healthier food in rural communities.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/nuestro-valor-increases-access-to-healthier-food-in-rural-communities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nuestro Valor, a transformative initiative to increase access to healthier food in rural communities led by Barbara Baquero\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#website","url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/","name":"Health Promotion Research Center","description":"Conducting Community-Based Research that Promotes Healthy Aging","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#organization","name":"UW Health Promotion Research Center","url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/UW-HPRC-logo2a-full-purple-web.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/UW-HPRC-logo2a-full-purple-web.png","width":2288,"height":239,"caption":"UW Health Promotion Research Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uofwhprc"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/1eff01757961e730c8f3dad02d59acb6","name":"Kenzie Lock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d88ead1c1acfab86f7b24e80061b637?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d88ead1c1acfab86f7b24e80061b637?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kenzie Lock"},"url":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/author\/kenzie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11367"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12283,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367\/revisions\/12283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hprc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}