Health

A new Word In Black survey reveals Black Americans deeply value healthy eating but face steep barriers: six in 10 distrust food safety, rising prices force trade-downs to cheaper options, and most want lower costs, more neighborhood grocery stores, and nutrition education to bridge the gap between knowledge and access.

Colorado voters approved Propositions LL and MM, funding free school meals for all K-12 public students by taxing residents earning $300,000 or more annually. The measure aims to reduce educational inequality, eliminate lunch debt, and improve student health, joining eight other states with similar universal free meal policies amid growing national food insecurity concerns.

The EPA is weighing a proposal to let data centers skip public notice and comment periods when applying for air pollution permits, a move critics say would enable secret deals harming Black communities already fighting projects like Musk's Memphis facility and Alabama's Project Marvel amid a Southern data center construction boom.

Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III transformed a small Baltimore church garden into the Black Church Food Security Network, a national movement connecting congregations with Black farmers to fight hunger. In this interview, Brown discusses lessons learned, innovative church models, technology’s role in ministry, and his evolving identity as the “Plant Pastor.”

Black families facing food deserts and rising grocery costs are finding fresh alternatives through farmers markets, CSAs, food co-ops, community gardens, and mobile markets. Federal programs like USDA's GusNIP now help stretch SNAP dollars further, connecting healthcare providers to produce prescriptions while expanding access to locally grown, affordable fruits, vegetables, and proteins nationwide.

Climate change threatens some sweet potato crops in the South, with projected production drops by 2060, but this resilient, heat-tolerant staple may actually thrive globally as temperatures rise. From sub-Saharan Africa's drought-resistant varieties to New England gardeners now growing them under fabric tunnels, sweet potatoes could become even more prevalent on future Thanksgiving tables.

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month, bringing attention to an inherited blood disorder that disproportionately affects people of African descent and can cause severe pain, stroke, lung complications and organ damage.

As federal health officials continue to investigate this summer’s outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has been tied to iceberg lettuce, many people are wondering: Is it safe to eat lettuce yet? For now, the answer seems to be generally yes – with an important caveat.

Gene editing reduced cholesterol by about 50% in an extremely small sample of patients over a year of follow-up, according to a new research update.

Morgan State University leads a national network of 16 HBCU and minority-serving institution research centers tackling America's Black maternal mortality crisis. Dr. Jessica Owens-Young explains how community-centered research, from doula policy reform to artistic performances, moves beyond documenting problems to creating practical, actionable solutions for Black communities nationwide.