What are Nutrition Education Classes?
Nutrition Education Classes are the main support where they provide healthy and affordable food for their clients. These classes are different from regular nutrition programs because they offer better nutrition with lower cost and better selection of food which the clients will recognize and know how to cook. On the other hand, most pantries may not be as selective with their donations and may distribute their food culturally inappropriate to the population of clients.
In order to ensure if the clients are eating healthy, the Nutrition Education Classes will focus on how they interact with the food. Pantries can start providing their clients the nutrition classes during visits. With the food sources from the pantries, the classes encourage volunteers to prepare the curriculum of the class and also the food. The Nutrition Education Classes should be adapted to satisfy the needs of the clients. Depending on their capacity, this approach should be implemented at varying scales for all pantries.
Food Pantries with Nutrition Education Classes:
Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, Oak Park, Chicago, IL: The Oak Park River Forest food pantry understands that health and hunger influence one’s access to nutritious meals. To keep their customers interested, they provide "cooking demonstrations, recipes, and samples of dishes made with items" from their pantry collection.
Irving Park Community Food Pantry, Chicago, IL: In collaboration with Dominican University, Irving Park Community Food Pantry provides nutrition education workshops to its customers during pantry hours. The students try to find ways to involve the clients, teach them healthy eating habits, and teach them basic behavioral adjustments that they may incorporate into their daily lives.
Linking nutrition with healthcare: On-site and mobile healthcare assistance:
One of the most straightforward strategies is giving patients access to a doctor at your program location to engage with them during client hours. A local medical facility or other health service organization could partner with a food pantry or hot meal program to assign a specialist to their pantry. During their visit, this person should preferably be able to inspect and prescribe medication to the clients. In this way, any client can arrive with a question or health need and receive immediate help.
Clients may benefit from this approach since they can visit the food pantry and receive medical care from a doctor in the same facility. This can also save clients money and possibly save their lives because they receive treatment before their health issues escalate. This strategy is suggested for smaller to medium-sized pantries with extra rooms close to the program area.
Mobile clinics, often known as medical clinics on wheels, provide healthcare services to people who are most in need. In addition to saving money for patients and providers by eliminating transportation expenses, they can enhance access to healthcare and general health outcomes in communities with limited resources.
Some medical assistant services:
Wesley Nurses provided by Methodist Healthcare Ministries: Wesley Nurses, who are employed by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., visit food pantries to offer minor services to clients. This service includes blood pressure and sugar check provided by the visiting nurses.
Open Arms Ministry, Logan Square, Chicago, IL: The mission of Open Arms Ministry is to assist and collaborate with individuals who are facing food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness. Their activities aim toward reducing homelessness and poverty in their neighborhood and offer those who are experiencing these situations a caring and supportive community.
Outside In, Portland, OR (Mobile medical clinic): An organization called Outside In is committed to supporting and empowering LGBTQ youth who are experiencing homelessness. A mobile care unit is used by this federally qualified medical institution to offer services to members of the community who are unable to visit the facility.
For more information about the healthcare assistant services, visit site: On-site and mobile healthcare services
Resource: Congressional Hunger Center
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