Nutrition~Simply Said offered at area food pantries
Nutrition education training at the Russell J. Salvatore Food Pantry and Outreach center in Lackawanna, Laura Steuerman, Catholic Charities nutrition educator, assists Nutrition~Simply Said participants with completing their food surveys.
Pictured right, Nutrition Educator Cassandra Fee, left, and Steuerman, lead class.
Nutrition~Simply Said, a grant-funded nutrition education program offered through Catholic Charities of Buffalo, is up and running at six of the agency’s nine area food pantries.
The community trainings provide free lessons to singles and families on the basics of food, nutrition and health, planning, preparing and cooking healthy meals at home, food buying skills, reading recipes, and food safety and resource management.
“Catholic Charities of Buffalo is very excited to offer the new program, Nutrition~Simply Said, to our communities,” said Eileen Nowak, director of Catholic Charities’ parish outreach and advocacy department. “Being that our parish outreach and advocacy department coordinates and operates nine food pantries in western New York, we felt there was a need for a training program to help empower our clients and others in the community to make healthy choices.”
According to Nowak, the education program also highlights cooking for varying dietary needs.
Nutrition Educator Cassandra Fee, left, and Steuerman, lead class.
The trainings, about 45-minutes in length, are offered currently twice each month at the: Bishop Edward U. Kmiec Food Pantry and Outreach, 11 a.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday, 920 Tift St., Buffalo; Fulton Street – St. Brigid Food Pantry and Outreach, 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Thursday, 170 Fulton St., Buffalo; Lovejoy Food Pantry and Outreach, 11 a.m. on the first and third Monday, 139 North Ogden St., Buffalo; Russell J. Salvatore Food Pantry and Outreach, 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Monday, 75 Caldwell Place, Lackawanna; Town Square Food Pantry, 11 a.m. on the first and third Tuesday, 2710 N. Forest Rd., Getzville and Catholic Charities’ Kenmore Office, 1 p.m. on the first and third Thursday, 3370 Delaware Ave., Kenmore.
Trainings will expand to the Franklinville Outreach location in Franklinville and the Joyce Family Food Pantry and Outreach in Wellsville later in the spring.
The trainings are open to clients of the food pantries and also to persons and families in the surrounding communities who wish to learn more about learning how making small, simple lifestyle changes can lead to healthier nutrition.
“Participants can attend as many of the trainings as they like for free and are given the book (complete with recipes) that has been created for the program and other gifts, including a gift card to a local grocery store and a reusable shopping bag,” Nowak said. “We hope that thru this extension of our department we can reach over 350 people this year to bring a better understanding of the healthy world of choices.”
For more information about the Nutrition~Simply Said Nutrition Education Program, or any of the 51 programs and services offered by Catholic Charities of Buffalo, please contact Catholic Charities at (716) 218-1400 or go to ccwny.org. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
