‘Tis the season of making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity or joyful movement habits. That’s right: March is National Nutrition Month! But while this laudable annual observance is a campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, it’s always Nutrition Month, thanks to the efforts of our Community Health Education team. Through a variety of nutrition education classes and creative approaches to healthy eating, this small but mighty force of dietetic educators are making a real difference in providing long-term health and hunger solutions for our neighbors across central North Carolina.
Community Health Education (CHE) program empowers people to lead healthy lifestyles, participate in joyful movement and physical activity, prepare and eat meals with their families, meal plan and budget, and enhance their favorite recipes. meet their food needs and get the most nutrition out of a limited budget. One of the most effective ways we do this is through the Share Our Strength “Cooking Matters” program. “Cooking Matters” is a nutrition education program that teaches participants to use the resources that they have to make healthy choices when shopping, ditch complex recipes for quick, easy, and tasty ones, and enjoy mealtimes with their families. shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices, and cook delicious affordable meals. The Food Shuttle offers “Cooking Matters” courses to myriad groups at different age levels through schools, community centers, and other partner sites. Lessons are provided by trained volunteers who serve as nutrition and culinary instructors, and—as a bonus--all adult participants receive a $10 grocery gift card per class attended at the conclusion of the course.
“Cooking Matters” classes are offered in both English and Spanish, and the CHE team is adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of even wider audiences. In March, students at the DHHS School for the Blind will delve into the six-week course. Former Food Shuttle intern Meredith Kraus, who has taught the class to people with vision impairment before, will return to serve as nutrition instructor for this session. Volunteer Kevin Underwood will serve as the culinary instructor for the students, who will each be partnered with an aide. The curriculum will be adapted in various ways, such as instructors always verbalizing what they are doing and consistently referring to participants by name. Natalie Demaayer, CHE Coordinator, says they will have to be flexible as they continue to adapt the lessons for the group, but that “this will allow the program to reach a community that normally gets left behind with nutrition education.”
CHE’s recent nutrition education offering, “Nourishing Children with Picky Eating Behaviors,” has been a resounding hit! This three-part virtual series on helping children expand their diet and build a positive relationship with food has had wide audience interest and the program is already working on a Spanish translation. Additionally, there have been requests for live presentations to parent groups, due to the subject matter’s famously broad application and appeal.
“The Family Kitchen” is a six-module online class that members of our community can take at their own pace. Each lesson features a reading topic, a short video, tips for how to practice the topic at home, and a recipe to try. It is a virtual adaptation of ”Cooking Matters” and features topics about meal planning, eating together as a family, letting kids participate in meal preparation, healthy snacks, and more. Participants who photograph the meals they made at home with their families can submit the pictures and receive a $60 grocery gift card in the mail when they complete the course. We are currently in the process of developing “The Spanish Family Kitchen,” which should be ready to launch by summertime.
To sign up for training as a “Cooking Matters” volunteer, or for information on programs that CHE is hosting. like “Cooking Matters”, “The Family Kitchen,” or "Nourishing Children with Picky Eating Behaviors." email CHE@FoodShuttle.org.