Staff Spotlight: James Aubertin – Senior Web Development Coordinator, Meridian
Before working at The Idaho Foodbank, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had? “knot bumping” This was one of the jobs on a logging crew and…
Nutrition Education
Nutrition at every age is critical for our health and well-being. The cycle of hunger shows that people often find themselves in the position of making difficult decisions when they are food insecure. This can be eating foods with low nutritional value, which can make them vulnerable to chronic health conditions.
Our Nutrition Education tools help provide insight and resources to encourage individual to make healthier choices for themselves. In turn, healthier individuals and healthier families reduce the need for healthcare in the future. In the end, Nutrition Education addresses the need to develop skills and knowledge about healthy eating, economical preparation, and the health benefits it brings.
Developed by Share Our Strength, Cooking Matters is a 6-week, hands-on, cooking-based program for all ages that teaches food preparation and food budgeting skills that people need to make lasting changes to their eating habits. Cooking Matters in the Store is a one-day program that teaches students how to identify healthy and less expensive options at their local grocery store.
- 43 Cooking and In-Store Classes Conducted Statewide
- 1045 Men, Women and Children Who Attended Classes
- 86% Of The Food Distributed Was Considered Nutritious
Nutrition classes
Upcoming Classes
Interested in taking a nutrition class you can find them on our events calendar.
Nutrition and Recipes
We share resource where our partners and the people we work with can find nutritional information as well as recipes that are friendly to any budget.
Cooking Matters in Your Pantry
Jannelle Zenner, a Nutrition Education Specialist for The Idaho Foodbank and in partnership with St. Mary’s Clearwater Valley Hospital & Clinics, Presents Share Our Strength Cooking Matters in Your Pantry. This video includes tips and tricks for healthy, budget-friendly ways to stock your pantry and how good nutrition can help reduce developing chronic disease.
The classes gave me hope. It changed how I eat and how I shop. Many of the lessons I learned are now habits.
Cooking Matters Graduate
The Cooking Matters is helping end childhood hunger by inspiring families to make affordable food choices. Our programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals. Cooking Matters is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty.
Through these courses, Cooking Matters participants learn how to select nutritious and low-cost ingredients and prepare them in ways that provide the best nourishment possible for themselves and their families.
The Idaho Foodbank partners with volunteer culinary and nutrition experts to teach classes throughout Idaho. As the authorized Lead Partner in Idaho for Cooking Matters, The Idaho Foodbank provides nutrition education to all ages in communities throughout Idaho. We include courses for Adults, Kids, Teens and Families.
My favorite part of this class was trying new foods and being healthy.
Cooking Matters For Kids, Caldwell
Healthy Food Tips And Recipes
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The Idaho Foodbank 2023 Annual Report
In fiscal year 2023, food for 23.8 million meals distributed statewide with 86% of all food being nutritious. Over 212,922 people served any given month from our facilities in Meridian, Pocatello, and Lewiston, and through our network of over 440 community distribution partners statewide.