Healthier Futures in the Kitchen

Healthier Mom's and Babies strives to provide our clients with knowledge and support to live and lead healthy lives, not only for themselves but for their growing families, as well. Part of our programming addresses healthy lifestyle choices, including healthy eating and weight, physical fitness, mental health and self-care, and the importance of attending annual wellness exams.

Thalia Lopez, Health & Wellness Coordinator, has been with our organization for four years and now co-facilitates our Healing Kitchen Program, a part of our overall health and wellness programming. Thanks to funding from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, our clients have the opportunity to learn how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals for themselves and their families.

We host two Healing Kitchen sessions per year in the fall and summer at Johnnie Mae Farm, and each session runs for 8 weeks. Every week, we focus on a different food group like fruits, veggies, breakfast items, etc. Because of the grant we received, all food is provided free of charge to participants and is ready to go when they arrive. Clients watch informational videos about proper ways of chopping, various kitchen tools and their uses, and more. They chop, cook, taste, and talk about the experience with the facilitators and the group, and they have a say in what meals are prepared in future sessions.

Equally important to helping our clients prepare nutritious meals is educating them about the availability and affordability of healthy foods. All the food we use is sourced locally from grocery stores and the Johnnie Mae Farm. We show our clients that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive nor does it mean running all over town to various health food shops. And that meal planning for the week will help them stay focused on purchasing the items they need and avoid impulse buys of unhealthy foods.

Thalia shared a success story to illustrate how powerful this program is for our clients: A mother had her kids removed, and one of the court-ordered requirements to be reunited was to learn how to cook. She joined our Healing Kitchen Program and by the end of the 8 weeks, she was able to cook several nutritious meals, meeting the requirement. Because of her involvement with our program, she was reunited with her children.

“You can really see the difference from start to finish,” Thalia said when reflecting about our clients’ experiences. “They often come to us not knowing if they can afford it or if they will like the food, but we encourage them to step out of theirs comfort zone and try new things in this safe space we have provided for them.”