We had 14 participants from a wide variety of DV and non-DV agencies.  YWCA, Crisis House, City Heights Assembly of God, South Bay SDA, IRC, San Ysidro Health Center, South Bay Community Services, Women's Resource Center, and Shakti Rising were all in attendance.  Participants were given basic nutrition information by Ruthi Solari of SD HHSA and then taken through several activities from the toolkit as well as given an overview of how organizations can intentionally and strategically empower their clients without adding programming, or taking a lot of extra time.

As usual, we snacked and lunched - putting the participants in charge of Quinoa Veggie Salad, Hummus and Veggie Wraps, Oat Bran Banana Muffins, and Spinach, Orange, and Cranberry Salad.  Delicious!

I had a great time - and we plan on offering this programming more regularly.  Our only change will be a slightly longer format.  I think the ideal length would be a full day instead of only a morning!

My Tu graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science. Prior to Leah's Pantry, she worked as a Degreed Nutritionist at Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center WIC program in the East Bay serving low-income families. Working there confirmed her passion for working with low-income and underserved populations.  She recently completed her dietetic internship with the Central Valley WIC in Fresno, with an emphasis in Community Nutrition.  My Tu's hobbies include running, dog-walking, cooking, dancing, singing, traveling and photography. 

My Tu will be working as a nutrition educator in San Francisco and on projects throughout Caifornia.  She can be reached at mytu@leahspantrysf.org.

Register here.

After five years of hard work building a curriculum that delivers results, we could not be happier to have been included in this project!  

1.  Grab the mini-spiral notebook I keep on the counter of my kitchen.  Survey contents of my fridge - what needs to be eaten today (answer: kale).

2.  Write down the days of the week down the left-hand side of a fresh sheet.  Underneath each day, make a note of anything that affects meal time.  (Monday:  book club; Tuesday:  violin lesson; etc.)

3.  Two columns:  Meal and Prep.  Grocery List at the bottom (I will tear off and throw in my purse)

4.  Start with what you have.  I decided on kale lasagne for tonight.  I surveyed my pantry and decided I needed cheese & salad fixings.  Added to my list.

5.  Continued with the week.  Each time I decide on a meal, I make sure I have time to prep and include that on my plan.  I also consider lunches - my Monday & Tuesday meals always have leftovers so I know lunches on Tues and Weds are covered.

Here is my finished product: (took me longer to write this post then to create this plan)

We have been invited by the Salvation Army Kroc Center in City Heights to host a single-agency Food Smarts Training Program for their staff.  They will train staff members from the Family Resource Center, the Gym, the Church, and Education Programs to run workshops for kids, adults, seniors, and families.  We are so happy to help the Salvation Army acheive their organization's health and wellness objectives!

We have also been selected by the San Diego County of Health and Human Services to run a Food Smarts Training Program for County nutrition ed staff, graduate interns, and staff from partner CBOs to deliver nutrition education programs to SNAP-Ed eligible populations.  This is a great opportunity to align our curriculum with Federal and State standards, and reach vulnerable populations through a strong public-private partnership model.

Last, recently trained FSTP-graduates (see previous post) will be showing off their Food Smarts by presenting mini-nutrition workshops to attendees of the Healthy Eats: The Future of Nutrition Banking on March 27.  This conference is sponsored by Feeding America San Diego, SuperFood Drive, and Kaiser Permanente.