A key component of the work of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) has been the implementation of a Youth-Led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project. This systematic approach guides young leaders through the process of identifying what the assets and opportunities are in their communities, crafting a research question and associated tools, and through advocating for healthy changes based on their research.
This year, YAC members identified the need for additional healthy food options in their community and conducted a YPAR project based on the research question “How many families are engaged in their weekly Farmers Market for healthy food options?” YAC members focused on the City Heights Farmers Market and they created an original Observational Research Guide to answer their research question. The youth determined that while the Farmers Market was an excellent healthy food resource, the community needed more information and advertisement for the market to increase the utilization of the healthy food options. Next steps for the YAC’s YPAR project include crafting original materials to disseminate their findings and advocate for improvements.
To learn more about the YPAR process, visit the YPAR Hub from UC Berkeley
