Nutrition

Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) Nutrition Education Programs strive to educate and empower our neighbors and community to select, grow, and prepare nutritious foods on a limited budget.

NUTRITION PROGRAMS:

COOKING MATTERS

Cooking Matters is an interactive, cooking-based nutrition program for families at risk of hunger. A team of volunteer culinary and nutrition experts teach six-week long courses that engage low-income families, kids, teens and adults through nationally developed curricula. These courses equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve their nutrition practices, eating habits, and food budgeting skills. Cooking Matters is a partnership of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Share Our Strength (SOS).

Cooking Matters Satellite Partnerships

IFFS is working with community organizations to expand the reach of Cooking Matters. As the SOS lead partner in North Carolina, IFFS supports these Satellite Parters include: NCSU Nutrition Sciences' A Packed Kitchen and the Community Nutrition Partnership. Please contact Amy Saltmarsh (Amy@FoodShuttle.org) if you are interested in becoming a Satellite Partner organization. 

FOOD MATTERS

IFFS Food Matters program offers one-time education activities covering diverse topics including shopping on a budget, tips for healthy cooking, home gardening, seasonal eating, and other nutrition principles. Food Matters activities cater to all ages and areas of interests. 

Food Matters Activities

• Nutrition, cooking, and gardening classes
• SOS developed Shopping Matters grocery store tours
• Healthy cooking demonstrations at Mobile Markets and Farmer's Markets
• Nutrition tabling at health fairs and community events

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Our dedicated volunteers make the success of IFFS Nutrition Education Programs possible. For more information on how you can get involved, visit our IFFS Nutrition Volunteer website. Here you will find current volunteer opportunities, descriptions of our programs, a volunteer orientation, highlights from our programs and much more. You can also click here to fill out the IFFS volunteer form to receive more information.

2010 Impact

In 2010, IFFS’s Nutrition Programs:

• Served 7 counties in 2010
• Engaged 279 active volunteers 
• Conducted 28 outreach events, reaching 640 children and 1450 adults

Cooking Matters: 

• Increased Cooking Matters courses run from 28 classes in 2009 to 39 classes in 2010.
• Engaged 144 volunteer instructors who gave over 500 volunteer hours.
• Reached 385 community participants