Black Churches United for Better Health (BCUFBH) 5 A Day Project

Research studies have shown that eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day may lower the risk of certain kinds of cancer. The Black Churches United for Better Health project was a four-year, $2.4 million research and demonstration program funded by the National Cancer Institute. The program was designed to encourage rural African Americans to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables.

The Black church was chosen as the primary site of the intervention activities. Each intervention church identified a Nutrition Action Team to plan and implement church activities. The program used lay health advisers to provide support to church members as they were encouraged to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. The project concluded in 1997. The study findings suggest that this intervention program was highly successful in achieving increased fruit and vegetable consumption in a rural African American population.

This project was in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, the Duke University Medical Center, the Division of Public Health/DHHS, the Stedman Center for Nutritional Studies, the NC Cooperative Extension Service, local churches, and local agencies.

Available Publications

For ordering information call (919) 733-0916.