CookShop for Adults

New York City's low-income neighborhoods suffer from a high incidence of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension — resulting largely from a diet high in fat, calories and sodium. In these neighborhoods, a lack of healthy food sources combined with an overabundance of inexpensive, low-quality food options makes healthy lifestyles difficult at best. To address these issues, the Food Bank's suite of CookShop Programs encourages the development of healthy diets while helping participants meet challenges to healthy living. CookShop for Adults focuses on two groups: adult food stamp recipients and seniors.

The CookShop for Adults food stamp recipient initiative provides monthly workshops that improve the ability of participants to prepare home-cooked, nutritious meals for themselves and their families. Program participants learn how to best find, store and cook fresh, in-season food as well as the benefits of a healthy diet based on whole, minimally processed food — with a special emphasis on locally grown produce. Curriculum materials — including lesson plans and cooking equipment — training and technical assistance are provided to the 42 community organizations and 15 schools where the program has been implemented. In addition, Food Bank staff visit these sites, where local staff and teachers lead CookShop workshops, and oversee program delivery.

CookShop for Adults' initiative for seniors — one of the largest groups relying on emergency food in New York City — is tailored to address issues associated with aging in addition to the obstacles to healthy living commonly found in low-income neighborhoods. Our curriculum for seniors helps improve the ability of seniors to find, store and cook fresh and frozen produce while emphasizing nutrition's role in preventing and managing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Program participants are also exposed directly to sources of accessible, fresh food through trips to farmers markets, community gardens and food stores. Our curriculum for seniors is currently implemented at the Food Bank's senior centers in Harlem and the Lower East Side. The Food Bank is working to expand the initiative into senior centers in low-income neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs.

For more information on CookShop for Adults, contact Jeannie Fournier, Senior CookShop Manager.