Nutrition Education

FOOD for Lane County’s Nutrition Education Program provides nutrition education, basic cooking skills and tips on how to stretch limited food budgets to income-eligible audiences throughout Lane County. We currently have two education programs: Cooking Matters and Cooking Matters at the Store.

Covid update, August 2020: The Nutrition Education Program has been transitioning its free classes to an online format.

January 2021 online class list

Description of Program Classes (PDF)

Current Classes:

An Introduction to Batch Cooking, January 5, 10-11 am

Meal Planning with a Food Box and Stretching Food Budgets, January 14, 9-10 am

Cooking for one or two: Shopping and Cooking Healthy, Affordable Meals for One, January 14, 5-6 pm

Picky Eating: Family Food Roles and Kids in the Kitchen, January 19, 1-2 pm

Meal Planning with a Food Box and Stretching Food Budgets, January 26, 4-5 pm

 

Cooking Matters

Cooking Matters is a cooking-based nutrition education program.

  • Learn how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget
  • Practice fundamental lessons including knife skills, reading ingredient labels and cutting up a whole chicken.
  • Learn how to make a healthy meal for a family of four on a $10 budget

At the end of each lesson, participants take home ingredients to practice preparing the recipe taught that day. Classes are taught by volunteers and administered by FOOD for Lane County in partnership with Oregon Food Bank and with the support of Share Our Strength.

Cooking Matters at the Store

Cooking Matters at the Store meets adults at the grocery store for a learning experience that teaches participants how to make positive changes to their food shopping habits.

Topics include:

  • Reading and understanding nutrition fact labels and unit pricing
  • Choosing healthy food from every section of the grocery store
  • Other ways to stretch a food budget without minimizing quality

If you are interested in scheduling classes or volunteering for the Nutrition Education Program, contact FFLC Nutrition Education Program Coordinator Dana Baxter by email here or call (541) 343-2822 x104.

Check out some nutritious recipes here.