WASHINGTON — October 7, 2015 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:

Today, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is launching a first-of-its- kind, three-year public health education campaign across the country to help the underserved and all Americans better understand the nutritional benefits of eating seafood and its positive impact on improving heart health.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of more Americans prematurely than any other preventable disease. The grassroots education campaign launches in nine cities this October, National Seafood Month, and aims to encourage Americans, especially the underserved, to eat seafood twice a week, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which research has shown can lower the risk of heart disease by 36 percent.

Last year, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership concluded its Eating Heart Healthy pilot program conducted in partnership with Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston targeting low-income women with a high rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The program was designed to help women curb their risk of heart disease through a seafood-rich diet. For four weeks, female residents of Roxbury Tenants of Harvard (RTH), a nonprofit affordable-housing community for low- and moderate-income families, participated in heart health- focused talks and cooking demonstrations, sampled omega-3 capsules, and were provided seafood recipes that can feed a family of four for $10 per meal.

At the end of the program, it was estimated that 92 percent of participants lowered their risk of sudden cardiac death, and 6 in 10 participants were at a lower risk for general cardiac problems.

“I try to eat well, but it’s difficult to cook healthy meals when you work full-time,” said Jacquie Boston, an Eating Heart Healthy program participant and resident of RTH. “The Eating Heart Healthy program transformed my life and my family’s life. Now, I have the skills to prepare heart- healthy meals.”

Based on the success of the pilot Eating Heart Healthy program, American Heart Association recently awarded a Go Red for Women grant to support the effort Boston, as the program expands this year to Seattle, Washington, D.C., and several other cities.

The launch of SNP’s national public health education campaign this month follows the success of pilots in Memphis, TN and Indianapolis, IN, last year. SNP partnered with local chefs, stakeholders, community leaders and health professionals to host cooking demonstrations, free health screenings to check omega-3 levels, week-long restaurant events, and to distribute free health education literature and recipes highlighting the nutritional benefits of seafood.

The campaign is focused on helping Americans, particularly the underserved, in nine cities: Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, West Virginia; Golden Isles, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Lexington, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Toledo, Ohio.

As part of the campaign launch, SNP is making available a white paper, “Breaking Barriers: Empowering America’s Underserved with Resources and Access to a Healthy Diet,” highlighting the health crisis among Americans, and particularly the underserved, who too often lack access to healthy foods, including seafood.

Read the release here