What strategies can Nutrition Programs use to assure cultural competence?
Cultural competence is defined as a “set of attitudes, skills, behaviors and policies that help organizations and staff to work effectively with people of different cultures” (11). Serving older adults of diverse cultures requires staff and volunteers to be compassionate, respectful, warm, empathetic and genuine. It is essential to develop and enhance staff cultural competency skills in the work environment. The Administration on Aging’s Achieving Cultural Competence: A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans and Their Families (12) is a useful resource. A “community” can be defined in several ways. It can refer to the people who live within a geographic boundary or to a group of people who have similar beliefs, culture or shared identity and experiences. Getting to know a “community,” its people, and its resources, will help service providers identify strategies for service delivery. If a community center or church is an important local institution, developing partnersh
