Hunger.Hope.Help

Do you remember who taught you how to cook? Was it your mom or maybe your grandfather? Even if you don’t consider yourself a good cook, you probably learned some skills to make a healthy meal. Meet Sidney. Through the efforts of the Multnomah County Health Department, he and a group ofdiabetic and pre-diabetic community members recently completed Share our Strength’s Cooking Matters™ classes taught by Oregon Food Bank’s Nutrition Education Program. These classes are offered to low-income individuals through Oregon Food Bank’s partnerships with social service organizations. In Sidney’s case, his condition isn’t the only challenge he faces; he’s also homeless and accesses emergency services to survive. Despite these obstacles, Sidney helps prepare food for hundreds of people who visit the dining hall at St. Francis of Assisi. But what really inspired Sidney were the volunteers who taught the Cooking Matters course. After the first class, he asked the St.Francis cooks if he could prepare the healthy turkey chili recipe for his fellow diners. They gave him the opportunity to fix this meal for over 150 people. Now there’s a special folder at St. Francis with all of Sidney’s recipes from his cooking class. Cooking Matters gave Sidney a feeling of hope and the experience of community. It’s donors like you that give people like Sidney the opportunity to take a course on healthy cooking that in turn will impact his health and the health of hundreds more.