HFPCC: Nutrition & Education

For households in high-need, low-access areas (or food deserts), the challenges to providing healthy meals are multi-faceted. For those living in poverty, without transportation and/or access to grocery stores, the options for access to food may be limited to corner stores and mini-marts featuring high-priced, less-healthy food options. These same household may face additional barriers, such as not having a working oven, stove or appropriate tools for cooking or lacking knowledge about how to shop for and prepare healthy meals from scratch.

Colorful Cooking Made Easy: Grocery Store Tours

More than one-third of families in Pierce County struggle to make ends meet. Even though these families see healthy eating as important, many are unable to prepare nutritious meals most nights of the week. Food skills taught during Colorful Cooking Made Easy grocery store tours (based on the Cooking Matters at the Store curriculum), like smart shopping, meal planning and healthy cooking, can help make healthy eating a daily reality.

Tours will be held at various grocery store locations across Pierce County. 

Cooking Matters at the Store Tour Leaders offer interactive, guided grocery store tours that help participants learn to make healthy purchasing choices on a limited budget. Using our guide and support resources, these leaders organize tours in their own communities – recruiting participants, choosing the tour location, and planning and leading the tour. Potential leaders might include registered dieticians and community nutritionists, culinary professionals, Cooperative Extension agents, and staff of community agencies who are interested in helping low-income families make the most of their food resources.

 

Colorful Cooking Made Easy: Cooking Classes

More than one-third of families in Pierce County struggle to make ends meet. Even though these families see healthy eating as important, many are unable to prepare nutritious meals most nights of the week. Food skills taught during Colorful Cooking Made Easy cooking classes (based on the Cooking Matters curriculum), like smart shopping, meal planning and healthy cooking, can help make healthy eating a daily reality.

Classes will be held at various locations across Pierce County. One class series is a 6-week commitment (once each week for six weeks).

Six-Week Cooking Course Instructors

• Culinary Instructors teach adults, kids, and teens how to cook and shop for healthy, low-cost foods. They combine their own knowledge and experience with the lesson plans and recipes provided in the Cooking Matters curricula. Culinary volunteers are usually either graduates of or enrolled in a two-year culinary training program or have at least two years working as a cook or chef.
  
  
• Nutrition Instructors teach adults, kids, and teens how to make healthy choices. They use the lesson plans and instructional materials provided in the Cooking Matters curricula, along with their own expertise. Nutrition volunteers are typically graduates of or enrolled in dietetics programs or have at least two years working in a nutrition or dietetics position.

Six-Week Cooking Course Assistants help before, during and after classes. Duties may include shopping for food, handing out and collecting class materials, engaging reluctant participants, helping with set up and clean up, taking photos or collecting stories during class to help record the Cooking Matters course experience.

 

Colorful Cooking Made Easy: Food Bank Demonstrators

Trained volunteers provide on-site cooking demonstrations at local food banks featuring fresh items in stock at the pantry, providing clients with recipes and ingredients needed to take home and prepare. CLICK HERE to see the "Colorful Cooking Made Easy" Food Demonstrator volunteer description!

We are currently accepting volunteer applications for Cooking Matters Class & Tour Leaders and Colorful Cooking Made Easy Demonstrators!

 

Crock Pot Project

For low-income families, it can be a challenge to provide a hot, nutritious meal at the end of a long day. Some parents are working more than one job to make ends meet, leaving little time for cooking meals at home. Additionally, some households have limited means to prepare meals, because the stove or oven isn't working or because they lack basic pots, pans and utensils. The Crock Pot projects helps to bridge this gap for families in need by providing slow cookers and soup kits so these families can make hot, nutritious, home-cooked meals that can be ready when the family gets home (or consumed by children while a parent is still at work).