The Food Shuttle is dedicated to teaching skills for self-sufficiency and empowering our neighbors to meet their own food needs. This might involve learning to grow food, shop for healthy groceries on a budget, or prepare nutritious meals at home. That’s why our Community Health and Agriculture Education teams have collaborated to develop the new Food Shuttle Academy, an online learning platform with free, self-paced lessons on health, nutrition, agriculture, and more!
Now live! Click the image to visit the site!
The Community Health Education Team has developed a variety of classes to meet our community's needs. Focused on promoting overall health and wellness, participants can learn about healthy living together, supporting a healthy pregnancy, infant feeding and nutrition, cooking together as a family, and solving picky eating behaviors. These practical tips for individuals and families provide real-world solutions to participants seeking more knowledge about caring for themselves and their families. Some lessons are available in Spanish to help support our Spanish-speaking neighbors. “As a team, we want our communities to know we are listening to them and building content that meets their needs,” shares Director of Community Health and Nutrition Kylee McCombs. “We know that in-person education isn’t possible for everyone, so we hope these engaging webinars will be helpful for our participants to get the information they want on their own time and schedule. We are slowly looking to build up our Spanish offerings and always need Spanish-speaking volunteers to help translate resources!”
The Agriculture Education Team is offering a ‘Seed to Supper’ course. This course serves as a beginner’s guide to every aspect of low-cost vegetable gardening with information on planning, planting, tending, harvesting, and cooking your own fresh vegetables! They have also developed a ‘Sprout Scouts’ course, which introduces children to the wonders of nature and gardening in a fun, kid-friendly way.
Both teams are also creating new courses that will be featured on the Academy site. The Community Health Education Team is always listening and creating relevant content. Be on the lookout in the future for courses on navigating the grocery store, cooking basics, and supporting physical wellness through joyful movement. The Agriculture Education team is preparing a workshop that teaches users how to plan a fall garden.
The Food Shuttle Academy offers exciting opportunities for our neighbors to learn more about growing and eating healthy food from their own homes, at their own pace, and at no cost to them. The education offered in these courses will empower our neighbors to become more self-sufficient and support them on their path to long-term food security. We are so grateful to all the Food Shuttle Team members who worked hard to make this resource available, and we will be excited to hear about its impact!