Food Bank Offers Nutrition Education Class for Adults with Different Abilities

Mar07

As the Food Bank’s Nutrition Education Manager, Mary Agnew began teaching the final class of a new nutrition education series, she set out all the ingredients for the brownies the students would be making that day. The students quickly realized there was an ingredient that didn’t fit in: beans.

This was the last class of a new and special series. For the first time, the Food Bank offered a nutrition education class series for young adults with different abilities.

The new class emerged after Mary taught a stand-alone nutrition class to fourth and fifth graders with different abilities at Del Valle Middle School in January. The experience helped her format curriculum materials to make sure students’ needs were met.

A week later, Mary began teaching an eight-week course for young adults with different abilities at the Del Valle Opportunity Center (DVOC). Her class consisted of five students (ages 18-24), two Del Valle staff members to assist her and a kitchen for her cooking demonstrations.

Each week, students helped make a recipe, like quinoa, black bean and corn salad and beef sliders with sweet potatoes, which helped them learn life skills in the kitchen. The students learned about kitchen safety, how to stay healthy and the different food groups.

For Philip, his favorite recipes to make were the pumpkin and peach smoothies and the black bean and zucchini quesadillas.

The class ended on a sweet note with a healthy, yet delicious, black bean brownie recipe and a review of calorie intake and MyPlate food groups. Though the class is over, students are scheduled to go on a grocery store filed trip at H-E-B to learn how to shop healthy on a budget.

“I’ve really, really appreciated this class. It’s been a nice treat to see these kids really develop their cooking skills and learn about nutrition in general," Anthony Vallejo, DVOC eighteen plus tradition program job coach, said. “It was an amazing class and we really appreciate all that the Food Bank has done.”  

After such a positive response, the Food Bank nutrition team is excited to continue offering nutrition education to individuals with different abilities. Though the new curriculum is still undergoing changes, the next class will be a four-week series in May for Del Valle Middle School students with different abilities.