“It has opened my world up to a whole new avenue of cooking,” Char Blatt said as she sat around a table of fellow participants of the cooking class at Conifer’s Mountain Resource Center.
Blatt is not new to cooking — she spent years cooking for her large family — but like others who took the Cooking Matters for Adults class, she is relearning how to make healthy meals.
“All of us have at least 25 years of experience,” said Lori Milfs, also in the class. “But every day, we learn something new.”
, which is free, sends participants home with free groceries for the meals they learn to make, and is sponsored by the nonprofit Share Our Strength.
It’s just to get nutrition education to the community.
“We’re trying to just put the information out there that you can eat healthy on a budget, said Laurie Walowitz, family education director for Mountain Resource Center.
She said the classes have been successful so far, including those specifically for kids, teens and families, as has “Exploring Foods with Mountain Resource Center” — a program for kindergarten and preschoolers — and family cooking nights at local elementary schools when parents and kids make meals together.
However, it’s a constant challenge to find out what fits well with the community, as discovered when it tried the Cooking Matters program.
“We couldn’t really get interest in people coming some nights,” food pantry manager Jim Shelton said. “People just didn’t feel like they were available for that.”
So Echo will be exploring other ways to get nutrition education to its clients. Shelton said they are considering a “Costco” approach to have cooking demonstrations set up at the food pantry during peak hours.
“It’s not going to be hands-on for the shoppers, but it’s going to get the idea out that you can try something you’ve never had before,” Shelton said.
Shellie McKeown is a parent engagement coordinator for Mountain Resource Center. In addition to leading the Cooking Matters class this fall, she is leading the family classes at local schools. She said she sees firsthand the impact such outreach has on families — often when parents tell her they see their kids trying foods they would have never touched before.
“When they develop a relationship to the food, they are open to it,” she said.
Walowitz said the Cooking Matters classes in Conifer usually end with participants asking for more. The program allows only one free class per person.
The important part, Walowitz said, is getting the word out that these classes and the nutrition outreach is for everyone, something people like Milfs don’t always expect.
“I’ve always thought about the Mountain Resource Center of a place to go when you need help,” Milfs said. “But you don’t have to be in dire straits to be here. I would have paid for this class.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com
