According to the US Agricultural Census roughly 6100 of 3.2 million are black female farmers. And the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics reports only 3600 of 89,000 Registered Dietitians-Nutritionists are black women are among their ranks. Yet one in 4 African-American women older than 55 has diabetes. And more women must become producers of their destiny vs. bystanders to their death.
That’s why investing in women and girls, we build local economies, improve the community’s health and build confidence in them to aspire for change. To this end, NativSol is kick starting WANDA– an initiative to encourage, engage and empower women & girls to advance their education and leadership in agriculture, nutrition and dietetics.
Tambra Raye Stevenson, MS Founder/Nutritionist NATIVSOL KITCHEN, come back home Washington, DC, will open the Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association Winter Meeting in Annapolis, Maryland on February 20, 2016. In this presentation you will learn why it’s an imperative to invest and how to support the movement. This workshop share the opportunity and the movement creation process of improving the food system with women leaders as change agents.
Tambra Raye has been Honored as the 2014 “Nutrition Hero” by Food & Nutrition Magazine, she is an inspiring speaker, nutrition justice advocate, and consultant. The award-winning Tufts-trained health communicator has emerged as a media source for NBC’s The Grio, WHUR-FM, Huff Post, Washington Post, Sirius XM Radio, NBC Nightly News, BET.com, TheRoot.com, and New America Media.
She has spoken at the U.S. Library of Congress, U.S. Department of Agriculture, W,K, Kellogg Foundation, Howard University, John Jay College, African Immigrant Refugee Foundation, American Public Health Association, and National Association of Black Journalists.
In 2014 Tambra was selected as National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s Traveler of the Year for her passion of finding her Fulani roots in Niger and Nigeria and purpose of promoting health of African heritage foods. As the founder of NATIVSOL KITCHEN, she was shortlisted by the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation as a Young African Leaders Summit delegate in Ethiopia during the African Union Summit to speak on youth employment in Africa related to food security and agriculture.
Coming from a family of healers, she develops cultural and faith-based nutrition and wellness programs. She is the founding member of the DC Mayor’s Office on African Affairs’ Health Education Planning Committee. She serves on the Mission Committee for the American Heart Association and community leadership board for the American Diabetes Association. She created the culinary ministry at Saint Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church to address the intersection of faith, food and justice and teaches faith-based nutrition.
She is an advisor for Oldways Preservation Trust’s African Heritage and Health Program and leads the health committee for the NAACP DC Branch and serves on the DC Dept of Health’s diabesity committee. Tambra holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition/premedical sciences and a Spanish minor at Oklahoma State University and completed her dietetic internship from Dominican University. On the David Boren National Security Scholarship, she studied and practiced community health at Ponticifia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Dominican Republic. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellowship semi-finalist.
The MOFFA Winter Meeting runs from 8:00 am to 5:oo pm, February 20, 2016, at the Maryland Department of Agriculture in Annapolis, Maryland.There will be information for farmers and gardeners in search of new ideas, techniques, & inspiration, as well as networking opportunities for consumers and distributors looking for good sources of local, organic food. For more information about the MOFFA Winter Meeting, please visit the Events Page.
Maryland Organic Food & Farming Association 