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Project Overview with Hyperlinks to Videos and Recipes

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NUTR 456 Community Nutrition Class Photo

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Recipe Bank Demonstration Videos Using Products Distributed at Second Harvest Tailgate Food Distribution Events

Class: 

NUTR 456 Community Nutrition

Instructor:

Carol Friesen, PhD, RDN, Professor of Nutrition

Students: 

Kara Beitler, Katelin Berebitsky, Brianna Caldwell, Cecilia Collins, Kelsie Coomer, Mark Feliciano, Andrea Garcia, Danielle Hoover, Jude Johannson, Tasha Lane, Lexi Meacham, Brittney Richwine, Brendan Rollin, Dylan Spina, Alexandrah Transier, Kara Tripp, Joe Van Hoosen

Community Partner:      

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana

  • Kellie Arrowood, Volunteer Coordinator
  • Jackson Eflin, Marketing Coordinator

Problem:                            

In the United States, an estimated 1 in 9 people (11.1%) are food insecure and struggle with hunger. In Delaware County, however, the rate is much higher, with an estimated 1 in 6 people (17.7%) being food insecure. Delaware County has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the state. The impact of COVID-19 exacerbated the situation through the spike in unemployment and as a consequence of the lockdown that resulted in the loss of school breakfast, school lunch, and after-school snacks/meals.

To address the issue of hunger in Delaware County, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, our community partner, distributes food is through a "Tailgate" event, a drive-through program that meets people at a central location (i.e., a mall parking lot, a sports arena, a school, a business) in their community.  Local volunteers help load the participants' cars with various foodstuffs as they drive through. Unlike most food pantries where people can choose the food they receive, during the tailgate events people typically are given large quantities of a few specific food items (i.e., 20# of potatoes, 6 gallons of milk, 10 heads of lettuce). Unfortunately, when people do not know what to do with a specific item of food because it is unfamiliar to them or because they have too much of any one food at one time, the food is wasted. Thus, a need was identified by Second Harvest staff to develop a 'recipe bank' that includes easy to read recipes, the cost for each recipe, a fun nutrition fact, and a short video that demonstrates how to make the recipe, as many residents lack even rudimentary cooking skills.

Outcome:                           

To sensitize the students to the depth and breadth of food insecurity in our community, the senior dietetics students enrolled in this course first volunteered at several Tailgate events to see firsthand the 'faces of hunger' in our community. There, in the freezing cold of January and February, they helped load box after box of food into people’s cares. Next, after receiving a list of the most frequently distributed foodstuffs at the tailgate events, each student was asked to select two healthy, simple recipes–one that included a frequently distributed food item from the tailgate and one that included a plant-based protein source (i.e., dried pea or beans, legumes, rice) and create a short video that demonstrated how to prepare the recipe. The students then created a recipe sheet that included the recipe, the cost per recipe/serving, and a fun nutrition fact. Lastly, they created or identified a corresponding “nutrition worksheet” (i.e., coloring page, word search, cross word puzzle, etc.) to that could be used by anyone in the household to provide a bit of nutrition education. The videos and the accompanying recipe sheet and handouts will be placed on the Second Harvest Facebook page and website for anyone to access. In addition, through course lecture and assignments, the students will be exposed to key resources that they can use in their professional future as dietitians to understand the prevalence of food insecurity and to identify where they can refer their patients in need in whatever communities they ultimately live and work.

Links to Class Projects:

Overview