For more than a decade, CommunityHealth has offered cooking classes to our patients, demonstrating how to make healthy, delicious recipes with affordable ingredients. Since spring of 2020, these classes have been on pause, but we are THRILLED to announce that as of August 3rd 2022, patients are once again invited to cook with us!
Throughout the last two years, we’ve used our YouTube channel to host a variety of meal prep videos, but there’s no substitute for hands-on learning—especially when it comes to cooking. Starting next week, class participants will be invited to our learning kitchen at the Lederman Family Health Center. (If you’ve visited us before, you might recognize this space as the volunteer break room!)
Because our patient population is entirely made up of low-income residents of Chicago, we know that access to healthy food is not always a guarantee. Around 26% of CommunityHealth patients self-report that they struggle to buy food. Produce is expensive, recipes can be daunting, and cheap, ready-made meals are an especially tempting option after a grueling day of work at minimum wage. For diabetic patients healthy eating is both a necessity and a challenge. We believe in quality health care for all, and care for our patients’ diets is an important aspect of holistic and preventative health care.
Patients can choose to take culturally-specific cooking classes at CommunityHealth, which feature recipes that utilize traditional ingredients of Polish and Mexican cuisines. At the end of each class, patients receive a food bag with which to replicate the recipes at home.
These photos are from a cooking class back in 2018. Check out our Instagram (@communityhealthchicago) in the coming weeks to see what’s cooking at CommunityHealth!