Fay's referral partners know they can send their patients to find a dietitian through Fay because they trust the providers we have in our network deliver a higher quality of care. They also trust that the dietitians in our network are inclusive to a wide array of cultures.

While the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has made meaningful improvements to increase cultural competency in the field, we still have a long way to go.

Fay is committed to pioneering inclusiveness in dietetic counseling, which means each of us has to play a role in advancing this effort. Increasing cultural competency has real world implications and improves the quality of care. Culturally aware care has been known to...

• Increase patient adherence
• Achieve greater health outcomes
• Accelerate long-lasting behavioral change

To learn more, we welcome you to read supplemental material from the New York Times that outlines some of the challenges facing the dietetic field.

While it's difficult to know every culture's cuisine in depth, we ask you to be committed to "going deep" on at least 1 or 2 cultures that you are unfamiliar with.

<aside> 🌏 Culture Challenge For Your Private Practice

We ask that your practice commit to becoming an expert on 1 or 2 new cuisines that you are unfamiliar with.

</aside>

It is important to "go deep" on whichever cuisine you choose. In order to show respect for the cuisine you select, we recommend the following 4 tips:

1. Support small businesses 🏡 owned by people who identify with that culture 👦🏾👨🏽👩🏻👩🏿‍🦱🧑🏼
   • For example, if you're learning about Cuban spices, venture to a local Cuban store, not Whole Foods
2. Follow diverse influencers (e.g., chefs, RD's) who have the heritage of the cuisine you're learning about 🌎 🌍 🌏
   • Judge a social media account not necessarily by the number of followers it has, but by how authentic their posts are to the culture they represent
3. Fall in love 😍 with the dishes and cultural norms surrounding the cuisine 🍽️
   • You don't have to love every dish of the cuisine you choose, but sincerely learning to love and appreciate a region's culture is critical. Many dishes require hard work to make or are extremely difficult to find. Each bite is precious to people who identify with the culture you're trying to learn about
4. Learn to properly pronounce ✅ the dish or food names in the native language as best you can 🗣️
   • Going the extra mile here shows an added level of care, respect, and enthusiasm for patients