Operation Shoestring’s Healthy Eating Classes!
If you came by our building on a Friday or Monday night, you might see our Shoestring parents laughing, learning, and cooking away. This past month, Shoestring parents in our Healthy Eating classes made meals like smoothies, grilled chicken and even homemade biscuits!
Our parent coordinator Star Pool explained, “We made homemade biscuits because I wanted to explain to parents the benefits of making things from scratch as opposed to buying things like fast food that has been heavily processed.” Pool uses her cooking demonstration time to explain nutritional concepts like label reading, the dangers of heavily processed foods, and the stress-relieving benefits of cooking.
“It’s been great. I have learned a lot, and met new people. I learned new ways of cooking some familiar and traditional foods!”
Annette, a Shoestring parent
These Healthy Eating classes are designed based on parent input, and include plenty of time for fun and socialization in addition to nutrition education. Annette, a Shoestring parent, said of her time in the program: “It’s been great. I have learned a lot, and met new people. I learned new ways of cooking some familiar and traditional foods!”
A core component of our programming is providing parents and guardians spaces to develop tools and resources they need to best support their children and their families along their path to success. As part of this journey, our health education classes offer a variety of ways for families to get involved.
Shoestring parents in the past two weeks made lettuce wraps and baked goods in addition to competing in a “Chopped” style competition where they competed to make the most nutritious (and most delicious) dinner! These evening classes have benefitted more than our Shoestring parents– they’ve changed kids’ lives too! As one Shoestring parent in our Healthy Eating Program said:
“I found out my son loves smoothies. He’s obese, and so if I don’t take anything else out of this program, I’m just glad I got to learn about how to make smoothies. It’s a great thing.”
By providing Shoestring parents with safe spaces to learn, explore, and create, we’re facilitating spaces where they can feel heard and validated for who they are. This work is essential for families in need of emotional and social support as they navigate their lives. Operation Shoestring is committed to supporting the whole family, and while our work takes on many different (and sometimes tasty!) forms, our mission remains the same: empower the children and families we serve to create their own success, and that of their community, so we all rise together.