Nutrition Projects

Kids in Wasatch Community Gardens' City Sprouts program make a "Super Hero Salad" during a an educational nutrition lesson created by UAH staff.

Utahns Against Hunger is committed to healthy eating efforts, since we believe a nutritious diet is an important component of ending hunger.

Nutrition Education

We are partnering with youth programs in the valley to encourage healthy eating through nutrition education.  A current UAH AmeriCorps VISTA project is working to further incorporate nutrition lessons into programs of Wasatch Community Gardens.  The VISTA volunteer wrote a few curriculum lessons and then worked with the educators at Wasatch Community Garden to teach it.  It looked something like this:

The kids run inside to the solar-heated workroom/greenhouse/classroom at the Tomato Garden.  Thank goodness for this protection from the blustery fall cold air.  “Wow, its warm in here.”  Somewhat surprisingly they sit quietly along a bench in front of Ziploc bags of raw whole grains we have displayed.

After introductions and garden name roll call (Laura Lavendar, Michael Melon, Krystal Kale…), I show a large diagram of the anatomy of a whole grain.  “What is this part called?” I ask pointing to the small almond-shaped part.  “The germ, the germ!”  (pronounced with a hard “g”) they respond.  They get the idea.

We discuss why whole grains are good for us, and then move onto the mysterious bags of grain on the floor.  Challenge: “Can you guys match these raw grains with the picture of cooked grains?”  They get about half of them right.  We talk about the others.  Red quinoa, oats, brown rice, amaranth, bulgar, wheat berries.  The wheat berries are passed around to taste.

Wasatch Community Garden afterschool program participant enjoys the tabouli salad she helped prepare.

Next on the agenda: making tabouli. “Who has heard of tabouli?” “Me!” exclaims one of the ten.  After a quick knife lesson (“Let’s see your knife hands—how do you hold a knife?”), pairs split up to wash and chop the ingredients—parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumbers.  The bulgar is already soaked and ready.  Everything goes into the mixing bowl—shapes of all dimensions.  The sauce is measured and added—lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper.  “It smells funny.”  Everyone gets a little in their bowl.  They take small bites to investigate.  “YUM!” “Ewww, it’s spicy.” “This is so good!” “This tastes funny.”  The degree of tabouli approval spans the spectrum.  A few kids’ change their opinions before they finish their first bowl—some for the better and some for the worse.  Then they wash their dishes and are back on the bus.

Mission accomplished.  We learned to define and identify whole grains as well as why it’s good to eat them.  We practiced our chopping skills, learned how to make a whole grain salad, and tasted it.  Some kids like it, some don’t.  Supposedly, you need to try a food seven times before you know if you like it or not.  One down for these kids.

Nutrition Resources

Check out the new USDA “MyPlate,” which has replaced the food pyramid.

Similar to the USDA “MyPlate,” Harvard School of Public Health has released the “Healthy Eating Plate.”

The USDA’s Nutrition.gov provides easy, online access to government information on food and human nutrition for consumers.

The American Dietetic Association provides nutrition resources for the public, students, health professionals, and the media.

The American Dietetic Association also provides nutrition information, games, and activities geared toward kids.

Utah State University Extension Agency provides fun and practical information from vegetable of the month, recipes, and cooking on a budget.

Food Co-ops

Food co-ops are a great way to cut your food bill by pooling buying power to buy fresh, healthy food.  C0-ops are often organized into weekly or monthly orders, but also exist as more traditional retail stores.

Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op offers weekly orders across the state of Utah with pick-up times on early Saturday mornings.  They do not accept food stamps at this time.

The Community Food Co-op of Utah offers monthly orders with Saturday morning pick-up locations across the Salt Lake Valley.  They also have warehouse sales every Monday from 3:30-6:30pm (no pre-order required).  Food stamps accepted!

The Utah Co Op is a retail store in Murray open for shoppers on Thursdays (11-2pm) and Friday and Saturdays (11-6pm).  They accept food stamps and offer all sorts of deeply discounted groceries including cheese, breads, and drinks.