Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s programming has had to make many changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic—none more so than Community Health Education. As social distancing and contact-free interaction have become more and more necessary, this hallmark of the Food Shuttle had to find new ways to engage with participants while still sharing all-important lessons on eating healthy on a budget.
Enter the digital world of online programming, and “The Family Kitchen”—a six-module video series. Participants enroll through the Food Shuttle’s Google Classroom where all the modules have been uploaded. The modules contain nutrition and recipe videos, discussion boards, and activity sheets. Once participants complete all six lessons and submit pictures of the recipes they made at home, they receive a $60 Food Lion gift card.
In an effort to be more culturally inclusive and broaden the reach of the Community Health Education initiative, a “Spanish Family Kitchen” series is currently in the works. The series will not only be presented in the Spanish language, but will feature nutrition information, culturally familiar recipes, and activities relevant to the LatinX community. A summer launch is planned for this online series.
“We currently have three Spanish-speaking volunteers working with us on planning the series,” said Natalie Demaayer, the Community Health Education Coordinator who is overseeing the project. “We hope to have more people from the community to help make this come to fruition.” The plan is to meet via Zoom on Mondays, and to film on Thursdays. Those interested in volunteering to help can sign up for the February 7 and 10 sessions and the February 21 and 24 sessions. More session dates will be announced as they become available.
The next cohort for the English-language “Family Kitchen” is planned for the spring. Sign up information will be made available on social media and on the Food Shuttle website.