Food Bank Educators continue to teach during the pandemic
March 2, 2021
Jaime Sherman, MS, LDN, Culinary and Nutrition Educator
As we near the one-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic, educators at the Food Bank of Delaware continue to work diligently to provide nutrition education to the public. Using the curriculums, “My Plate for My Family” for adults up to age 60 and “Eat Smart, Live Strong” for adults 60 years and older, Educators are providing information on USDA’s My Plate Guidelines, encouraging adults to eat more fruits and vegetables each day and incorporate 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
As so many parents of school-aged children are getting familiar with Zoom classes, so, too, are Food Bank educators as we conduct each lesson in our four-class series via Zoom. We are also able to use PowerPoint presentations to conduct these lessons and send email correspondence with lesson-specific recipes, videos, and materials. These lessons can also be pre-taped with an educator doing a voice over of the presentation to be studied at the participant’s leisure.
In the beginning of the pandemic, educators also video-taped cooking demos from home using common items found in pantry packages and maintained them on the Food Bank of Delaware’s YouTube page. These lessons have evolved into Live Zoom cooking demonstrations where participants can interact with the educator in real time.
Samples of easy and cost-effective recipes using items commonly received in a pantry package can, and have been, emailed to our Hunger Relief Partners, further showing our support of the public during this hard time.
When asked to note the most important thing they learned from the classes, one participant noted “The many benefits of incorporating more fruit/vegetables into my daily eating. The program helped me to remember other vegetables I like, but was no longer eating. The handouts for the exercises are helpful. Realizing that exercises can be simple – not complicated & overly strenuous. I am very thankful these classes were made available.”
Throughout March, as we honor “National Nutrition Month”®, we will be posting Facebook Live food demos, other recorded demos, and other blogs to support good nutrition during this time. Tune in on Friday, March 5 for our first Facebook live food demo starting at 2:30 p.m.
If you are an organization that provides programs or services to low-income individuals and families, SNAP-Ed classes and programs can be a tool for your clients. Please contact us to schedule a program!
New Castle County
Jaime Sherman, MS, LDN
Culinary and Nutrition Educator
jsherman@fbd.org
Kent/Sussex County
Alicia Vogel, MA
Community Nutrition Educator
avogel@fbd.org
