LANCASTER –A new program has been launched to encourage and teach people how to produce healthy, more cost effective and tasty meals. Recently, 6 local families consisting of 14 children and adults gathered for one of several hands on sessions.
The goal of the “Cooking Matters” program, said UNH Cooperative Extension Educator Heidi Barker, is help people develop “the skills to can provide healthier and more cost effective (meal) options.”
Data shows Coos County leads the state in obesity and much of this relates to poor eating habits, less access to fresh fruit and vegetable and an over reliance on processed food. By teaching people about food and nutrition, along with embedding shopping, culinary skills people will be able to turn less expensive raw food into wholesome meals.
On this evening, Michael Holland, the food service director at the Weeks Medical Center, taught the participants techniques for proper knife safety as well how to follow recipes and understand portion sizes. He noted that a lot of processed foods remove the nutritious items – like grain and natural starches and add fillers like sugar. “That’s why,” he said, “when you eat something (over-processed) and then a half an hour later you’re starving again.”
Michael Holland shows basic knife safety to Emma Mullins.
Susan Chancey, Home Visitor at Weeks Medical Center, worked with children and young adults to explore various types of fruits and vegetables and dips and toppings that may make them more appealing.
A planning group has been working for several months on identifying a small, focus group to combat poor eating habits. It became apparent that many families face nutritional issues because they have never learned to cook and consistently struggle purchasing healthy foods with a limited budget, Barker said. The “Cooking Matters” program had been successfully implemented in Colebrook.
Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters™ has been developed by the UNH Cooperative Extension and supported by several partners Weeks Medical Center, Coos County Partners in Health and the Council for Children with Chronic Health Conditions.
The key leadership that started and supported the Cooking Matters program, includes from the left, Bob Fink, Weeks Medical Center, Resource Development official; Lise Potter, Weeks Medical Center Dietary Manager ; Mike Holland, Weeks Medical Center Chef; Heidi Barker, UNH Cooperative Extension, Nutrition Educator; Scott Howe, CEO, Weeks Medical Center and Executive Councilor Ray Burton
Posted on:
April 24, 2012
