About Southern Ain’t Fried Sundays (SAFS)

At the Arkansas Minority Health Commission (AMHC), your health is our priority.  The SAFS will focus on encouraging small lifestyle changes for a big impact on the lives of minority people across the state. This program will give you recipes and food prep changes to start your change to a better lifestyle. We want to make being healthy an easy choice. Also, SAFS has a 21-day plan that will walk you through our easy to use free program.

Program Background

The AMHC works to lower gaps in care for minorities and educate on healthy lifestyles. One of the most known gaps that minorities face is obesity.

SAFS is created to teach Arkansas minorities about healthy ways to cook Southern-style (soul) foods. The program wants to reach people to offer new ways of cooking meals.

Objective of the program

We want you to join the SAFS Program to start the change to better living with new food prep options. We want you to keep using recipes from our SAFS Cookbook after you complete the program to keep this lifestyle change!

How the program works

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For Individuals

By learning how to prepare soul food recipes in better ways, you can change your life without giving up the foods you love. The SAFS program can help you do just that. After you have registered online, you will have access to our online toolkit that will offer everything you need to complete the program.

Your toolkit will include:

  • SAFS Web App Access– Track your calories, steps, and more!
  • 21-Day Plan – Follow it for a three-week change toward better health.
  • 60 Recipe Cards with breakfast, lunch and dinner options
  • Health Fact Sheets- Learn about glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure

Once you have access to the toolkit, follow the directions on your Welcome Letter to get started.

When the SAFS program is over, you will have the tools to continue your better lifestyle change.

Go ahead, make the first small step toward a big change that starts with signing up and starting the Southern Ain’t Fried Sundays 21-Day Plan today! (click here)

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For Groups

For groups joining in the SAFS Program, an important step is to choose key people: A Program Leader and the Planning Group. These roles will include helping people to complete the steps below. Their roles include:

Roles of key people:

Key Contact/Program Leader

The role of the Program Leader includes:

  • Be in charge of SAFS efforts and help change the way members think about soul food prep
  • Attend a 90-minute training that explains the idea of the SAFS Program and how it works. (Zoom or in person)
  • Setup meetings and activities with the Planning Group
  • Keep updated on activities created for members in the SAFS program
  • Provide email to AMHC staff about SAFS activities, updates, success stories, and more.
  • Provide program information to the Planning Group and use the material in the coordinator manual to lead/educate members and to get others to join the program
  • Manage the program with the Planning Group

Planning Group

The role of the Planning Group includes:

  • Be in charge of the program
  • Educate members about the program (i.e. how it works, how to use the tools, etc.)
  • Hold routine planning group meetings that include a detailed list of goals
  • Create a routine meeting between members
  • Form small working groups to complete goals
  • Plan activities for the SAFS program that focus on healthy food-prep (such as food tastings of SAFS recipes and cooking classes)
  • Find and recruit members for the SAFS program
  • Create a “rewards” system for members who make new eating habits as a result of the program
  • Work with the Program Leader to provide feedback to AMHC staff about the program