Nutrition Initiatives
Nutritious Foods to Alleviate the Impact of Food Insecurity
Lowcountry Food Bank believes that greater access to nutritious food can help break the cycle of hunger and alleviate food insecurity. In 2020, the Lowcountry Food Bank officially adopted a Nutrition Policy. The policy guides organizational decisions and stewards donations that support the well-being of the community. By committing to purchasing foods low in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat when available, Lowcountry Food Bank provides our agency partners and their clients with nutritious food. This food can enrich and manage health, all of which can help break the cycle of food insecurity.
Education to Address the Root Causes of Food Insecurity
As a SNAP Education Implementing Agency, Lowcountry Food Bank provides partners with training, materials, and guidance to empower their community to make the best food choices with their budget. The Nutrition Initiatives team coordinates Cooking Matters Courses, Grocery Store Tours, recipe samplings and guides partners to create a welcoming environment for the community to shop and select nutritious food for their family.
Hidden Row
Cooking Courses
We offer six-week Cooking Matters courses to adults, kids and families. Each course is team-taught by a volunteer culinary instructor, nutrition educator, and assistant. Upon graduation, participants receive incentives that help them continue to learn and practice their skills. We partner with Share Our Strength to bring these evidence-based curricula to our partners.
Grocery Store Tours
Participants learn unit pricing, label reading, how to identify whole grains and compare foods to build healthy meals on a budget. We partner with Share Our Strength to bring these evidence-based curricula to our partners.
Pantry and Partner Resources and Recipes
The Nutrition Education team shares nutrition information and delicious recipes for commonly available items at Lowcountry Food Bank. These recipes are simple to prepare and meet specific nutrition guidelines for a healthy life.
Community Wellness Outreach Events
Nutrition Team volunteers share nutrition activities and recipe samplings with clients at our partners’ community events. In partnership with libraries, the Charlie Cart, a full-scale portable kitchen, enables us to provide safe, interactive sampling, engaging participants to learn new ways to prepare foods.
Interested in bringing nutrition education to your agency?