Foraging, perennial vegetables, and nutritional resilience in a farmworker community: a mixed-methods analysis comparing nutrition functional diversity and the healthy eating index

The absence of correlation between NFD and HEI scores suggests these metrics capture distinct dimensions of food security and should not be treated as interchangeable. Farmworker communities employ sophisticated nutrition resilience strategies that may not be adequately captured by conventional dietary quality measures, highlighting limitations in applying standardized dietary guidelines across culturally diverse populations. Foraging and perennial vegetable use represent important yet potentially stigmatized food access strategies. Nutrition interventions should recognize and support existing community food knowledge rather than imposing top-down recommendations. Future research should address compositional data gaps for culturally important foods and prioritize development of culturally responsive nutrition assessment tools.