Conventional thought has always been, "if you're hungry, any food is better than no food."
We are simply not willing to settle for that.
To help our neighbors reach their health goals, we knew it was important to provide access to fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Our programs empower participants to lead healthy lifestyles, participate in joyful movement or physical activity, prepare and eat meals with their families, meal plan and budget, and enhance their favorite recipes. Our programs emphasize cultural strengths and have diversity, equity, and inclusion views. Our work is designed to give power back to our neighbors and communities. We look to our communities to be the leaders and voice for what they need, and we support them.
What we offer
Custom Workshops
Workshops are standalone classes that are tailored toward the needs of a specific group or site and the target population. Content for these classes is more specialized.
Classes run for 60-90 minutes and include a cooking demonstration
Food Smarts Curriculum
Food Smarts is an evidence-based interactive, learner-centered curriculum that is tailored to underserved communities. The curriculum is intentionally flexible and includes health education along with a culinary demonstration to ensure engagement and confidence building to apply the lessons outside of the classroom. Classes run for 30-90 minutes over the course of 3-6 weeks.
Food Shuttle Academy
Nutrition 101
o Creating a balanced meal
o Eating more fruits and vegetables
o From Bottle to Table – Feeding your Baby (Available in Spanish)
o The Family Kitchen (Available in Spanish)
Lifestyle Behaviors
o Healthy Living Together: A course for healthy living as a family
o Food Labels and Grocery Shopping
o Wallet Wellness: Your Guide to Balanced Grocery Shopping on a Budget (Available in Spanish)
o Setting the Stage for Healthy Habits
Nutrition for Life Phases
o Nourishing Children with Picky Eating Behaviors (available in Spanish)
o Healthy Pregnancies
Cooking Education
o *In production* Cooking 101 The Food Shuttle Academy
TO BE ADDED: Printable Education Resources
Kids’ health education and printable activities
Recipe Cards
Produce Cards
Adults’ health education printable materials
How our programming works
The Food Shuttle Academy Website
The Food Shuttle Academy is an online learning platform presented by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Here you will find opportunities to learn about health, nutrition, agriculture, and so much more! You can find our courses by clicking the "view courses" buttons in the section below, or by navigating the website through the navigation bar in the top right of your screen. We hope that you enjoy your learning experience with us!
Virtual and In-Person Education
How it works:
Community Health Education is always on the move. We meet our community members at the point of need by hosting nutrition education activities and culinary demonstrations. We happily host these at the Food Shuttle’s Summer Meals Feeding Sites, Learning Gardens, and at our Community Partners’ sites. Every lesson is informed by USDA guidelines and tailored to the needs of our audience. If you are interested in hosting a mobile demonstration, you can contact us at CHE@foodshuttle.org.
What you can expect:
o Professional culinary and nutrition educators volunteer their time and expertise to lead workshops and Food Smart curriculum tailored to adults, families, kids and teens.
o Courses are offered in English and Spanish.
o Topics include USDA MyPlate guidelines, healthy eating habits, food budgeting, and family-friendly menu planning.
o Each recipient receives a take home bag of groceries.
How to Get Involved in Community Health Education
Volunteers
Volunteers are needed for Food Smarts curriculum, workshops, and other educational events! Backgrounds in culinary arts, nutrition, or education are highly encouraged, but not required for all positions. Community Health Volunteer Training (see CHE Resources below) is required to volunteer for Food Smarts series and workshops classes. Translators and Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed for ALL positions. Click here to see all of our open volunteer opportunities!
Interns
If you have the ability to volunteer in a greater capacity, consider applying for our internship program!. We accept interns who need academic credit, are looking for experience in the field of public health, nutrition, or food service. We also accept dietetic interns.
Becoming a Certified Food Smarts Instructor & Additional Resources
Training to become a volunteer
To sign up for a Food Smarts course, you must first certify as a Food Smarts instructor. Our training program should take you no more than an hour to complete. Once you have completed the training, you will be eligible to sign up for any Food Smarts class. The certification is only applicable to Food Smarts programming and does not expire.
Please allow us 24-28 hours after completing the training for us to add your qualification in on our volunteer portal. Make sure you have an existing account on Galaxy and the email you provide at the end of the training is the email address associated with your account. Don’t have an account yet? Make an account here.
Do you want more resources or not sure yet if you want to complete the training? Find more videos and information about Food Smarts website here.
How to become a host/community partner for workshops
Interested in hosting a Food Smarts class or custom workshop at your organization? Contact CHE@foodshuttle.org.
How to request a health flyer or recipe card
The Community Health Education team develops monthly health flyers and recipe cards. If you would like to have access to these resources, please fill out our inquiry form here.
How to request coming out for a health fair
If you have questions about health fairs, setting up a specific educational class or anything else, please email CHE@foodshuttle.org.
How to be set up as a satellite partner
Food Smarts Satellite partners are organizations that host their own Food Smarts classes with help from us. We will provide the instructional material, forms and support as needed! To become a satellite partner, you must have hosted at least one Food Smarts class with us in the last year. If you are interested in training your staff to be able to implement these classes on your own reach out to CHE@foodshuttle.org!
Thank you to our Community Health Education Corporate Funders
Interested in funding a nutrition program? Click here for more opportunities.
This summer, we're taking nutrition education directly to low income school kids on their summer vacations at public school summer camps.