A Grant from the Walmart Foundation Launches a New Nutrition Education Program at Calvary

We are so proud to announce that the Walmart Foundation has chosen Calvary Women’s Services to be the recipient of a $25,000 grant to be used for our new Nutrition Education Program! The Nutrition Education Program will include a wide variety of nutrition and health/wellness activities, cooking classes, and culinary job training referrals.

When Calvary Women’s Services moved to our new home on Good Hope Road in Anacostia, one of the major priorities was to build a kitchen that was commercial-grade, fully functional and equipped to offer health and wellness classes. Establishing the Nutrition Education Program is a critical part of our continuing expansion, and is the perfect complement to the services we already offer.

Veronica is a resident at Calvary who feels very strongly about the connection between nutrition and health. She is spending a lot of time focusing on her physical health, knowing that she will feel better and have more energy. And she’s on the right track – since arriving at Calvary Veronica has quit smoking, lost weight, and gotten her diabetes under control.

Veronica likes the sound of the new class, and is interested in giving it a try. She spoke at length about how she enjoys certain healthy foods, particularly broccoli, but doesn’t always know how to work them into her diet. “It’s not that I don’t know what to eat – but not how to prepare it all the time.”

The new Nutrition Education Program will help Veronica and others identify foods they would like to eat that are healthy and how to best prepare them. They will also learn about best practices for buying the raw ingredients for making meals, and how to track calories and nutritional content. Women will have the opportunity to receive training in the Good Hope Kitchen at Calvary to get the hands-on experience of making a healthy meal, measuring out proper servings, and storing leftovers. And if women are interested in pursuing a job in the culinary field, Calvary will provide referrals into job training programs.

The Nutrition Education Program is a significant and exciting addition to our existing programs, and we can’t wait to get started!

Elaine Johnson, Education Coordinator, and the women at Calvary show their thanks creatively.