Food Banks have always played a major role in making sure as few people as possible go to bed hungry every night. Now the New York City Food Bank along with the Mario Batali Foundation is working to make sure people not only go bed with food in their stomachs, but that the food they eat is healthy as well.
On July 9th, the New York City Food Bank and Mario Batali Foundation launched its Community CookShop. This project is make sure that people know the nutritional value and health benefits of the food they are being provided and putting in their mouths. The program offers “hands-on family oriented health and nutrition education classes to food pantries and soup kitchens.”
President and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City, Margarette Purvis said, “Community CookShop will integrate the best elements of the CookShop program and deliver them directly to the families that already depend on many of the services within our emergency food network.”
The CookShop program has already been a success, and people of all ages have gone to develop cooking skills and gain nutritional knowledge and “…make healthy choices on a limited budget, and we are excited to extend these tools and resources to the families that will benefit the most,” said Purvis.
The program runs from now until August 17th, at twelve sites within the five boroughs and is fully funded by the Mario Batali foundation.
To learn more about this program and those similar to it visit www.foodbanknyc.org.