Cooking Matter class part 1: Learning the Basics

Those of us raised in 'healthy' kitchens often take for granted what we know about food.

How did you learn...

The difference between multigrain and whole grain

How to season with herbs and spices instead of just salt

Or even ways to sneak in some extra fruits and veggies into our diet?

Share Our Strength's program called Cooking Matters is helping low-income families learn the basics of a healthier kitchen.

Back in January I went to a Cooking Matters bootcamp in Texas where I learned about the program but also how people in the program can make better use of the food they receive from area food banks.

Recently I sat in on a few Cooking Matters classes and saw first-hand how the program is changing the way people think about the foods they buy and eat. Many do not know HOW to read a nutrition label correctly. Most are on a very tight budget and unfortunately processed foods are often cheaper, and they are certainly easier to prepare (or so we think) than fresh. Yet ALL of the participants in the classes I went to were eager and excited to learn how to cook healthier foods for themselves and their families!

Nutrition, Discussion, and Demos

Each Cooking Matters class has three parts: nutrition, food and cooking

A volunteer nutrition expert (in our case a graduate student who was an excellent teacher) starts off reviewing what they discussed in the previous class and then discussing the lesson for that week. The lesson can cover things like cooking safety, cooking as a family, nutrition information on fruits, veggies, whole grains and fats, and snack options.

In the classes I sat in on we covered how to read food labels (and not just box covers) so you know you are getting real whole grain in your diet. We discussed the difference between good fat versus bad fat.

You notice in the video that WE means the whole group contributes. We traded snack ideas and ways to combine protein and a fruit or veggie to fill us up. And most importantly we learned WHY we need to eat things that have lots of vitamins, fiber, and whole grains.

I especially liked the demonstrations like...

this is how much fat you'd be eating in a meal that consists of a Whopper with Cheese, Medium Fries, and a Medium Shake

 

OR

on the LEFT is an artery that is clogged....see the blood clot? On the right is a healthy one!

Nothing like lard and a big blood clot to get one's attention!

Janine

Disclosure: ConAgra Food Foundation and Share our Strength paid for my trip to Texas and I will receive a stipend for my work helping to tell the story and promote Cooking Matters. As always, all opinions and experiences are my own and this post was neither reviewed nor approved prior to being published.

Hunger Fear Anger Hope

Last week I was invited to Dallas, Texas by the ConAgra Food Foundation and Share Our Strength for the purpose of learning more about hunger and what they are doing to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.

I was shocked.

I was scared.

I was saddened.

But I left with a sense of hope, and of purpose.

I hope over the next few months to share what I have learned with you.

I hope it angers you.

I hope it scares you.

I hope it inspires you, as it did me.

Two Days in Texas Opened my Eyes Forever

In 2008 the North Texas Food Bank had the goal to double their business. As the director Jan Pruitt said, "Do you know any other business in 2008 that had a goal of  doubling?" Their mission is to 'fill the gap' between the amount of food families are getting versus what they need. The mission was 50 million meals by 2011.

Who are those 50 million?

The New Face of Hunger

We saw a video with a single dad who was working in his father's saddle shop. He was highly educated with a degree in finance, maybe even his masters. But as with many others, the economy and mortgage industry took a turn for the worse and took his financial security with it.

He has a job.

He grows his own vegetables.

He gets help monthly from a food pantry stocked by the North Texas Food Bank.

Photo courtesy of No Kid Hungry & Share Our Strength

We learned about new multi-generational families. Grandparents are raising grandkids. Sometimes this means the entire family has moved in due to economic stress. Sometimes the middle generation simply doesn't exist.

Hunger Scares Me

Hunger can happen to anyone. These days all it takes is one small shift to start the downward spiral. All of us are at risk. What if my husband hurt himself? How long would short term disability last? Then what?

The panic set it.

And then I got angry.

Hunger Angers Me

Jan Pruitt, the director of the North Texas Food Bank explained, "It's not that the United States doesn't have enough food. We have enough food."

So why isn't all of this food getting to where it's needed?

Why are only 38% of the eligible people getting food stamps and what is happening to the money for the remaining 62%? Is it just sitting there?

Why are so many kids hungry in the United States in the year 2010?

HOPE

Organizations like Share Our Strength and the companies like ConAgra that support them offer hope. They have programs that are working. Cooking Matters is the program we focused on and I can't wait to share everything I learned with you.

Over the next few months I am going to see first-hand some of the local food pantry customers and take a Cooking Matters class. I know in my own hometown I've read articles about the surge in food pantry customers who are new, have never had to ask for help, and more shocking...they have jobs. Often white-collar jobs.

Do you know what is going on in your town?

Important Links

North Texas Food Bank website and Twitter @ntfb

ConAgra Food's Foundation website and ConAgra on Twitter

Share our Strength's No Kid Hungry website , on Facebook, and @ShareStrength on Twitter

Cooking Matters website and @CookingMatters on Twitter

Janine

Disclosure: ConAgra and Share our Strength paid for my trip to Texas and I will receive a stipend for my work helping to tell the story and promote Cooking Matters. As always, all opinions and experiences are my own and this post was neither reviewed nor approved prior to posting.