Calvary’s Nutrition Education Program Kicks off Fourth Session for National Nutrition Month
Calvary Women’s Services kicks off its Nutrition Education Program’s fourth session during National Nutrition Month. Enabled by a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, the program started on March 3, 2014 and will be held in conjunction with Calvary’s Life Skills, Education, and Arts Program (LEAP), which offers the women at Calvary a chance to nurture healthy habits. Calvary Women’s Services provides homeless women with both housing and services that support good health, employment, and independent living.
Women in the Nutrition Education program will participate in an intensive Nutrition Education Course, a wide variety of nutrition and health/wellness learning opportunities, cooking classes, and culinary job training referrals. This program complements the Healthy Meals Program, which provides women two nutritious meals each day. Calvary’s facility in DC’s Anacostia neighborhood includes a commercial-grade kitchen, and provides an excellent space to hold hands-on cooking classes.
The Nutrition Education Program’s culinary training provides women at Calvary the opportunity to get the hands-on experience of making a healthy meal, which includes developing knife skills, measuring out proper servings, and storing leftovers. To celebrate National Nutrition Month, class participants will join course instructor Margaret Auger and Calvary’s program chef to utilize their skills to prepare a special Nutrition Month Dinner for the women at Calvary. “The women in the class come alive when we do meal prep,” said Auger, a nutrition consultant at BB & R Consulting. “I can see confidence in their faces.”
“The Walmart Foundation is proud to support organizations like Calvary Women’s Services that enable women to make nutritious choices and live healthy lifestyles,” said Walmart Community Affairs Director, Nina Albert. “I am pleased to announce that 46 women have received a total of 280 hours of education through Calvary’s program and are on track to living more independent and healthy lives.”
“At Calvary, we take a holistic approach to health and wellness, and the Nutrition Education Program provides a crucial piece to our current programming,” said Calvary’s Executive Director Kris Thompson. “National Nutrition Month offers an opportunity to continue to emphasize healthy habits among the women we serve.”
Calvary resident Anna recently completed the third session of the month-long class, and spoke at length about what she has learned in the program. She said, “I loved the class. I’m eating less sugar than I did before, and I learned how to make healthy foods, step by step.”
This grant was awarded by the Walmart Foundation and the District of Columbia Advisory Council as a part of the foundation’s State Giving Program. The Walmart Foundation is committed to supporting programs and initiatives that have a strong impact within their communities, especially in the areas of hunger relief and healthy eating, sustainability, women’s economic empowerment, and career opportunity.
For additional information about Calvary Women’s Services or the Calvary Nutrition Education Program, please contact Bettina Ramon at (202) 678-2341 ext. 223 or info@calvaryservices.org.