Matt Talbot's Community Garden (July 2, 2009)
Part of Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach's mission is to help nourish body, mind and spirit of the incredible people who make their way to our door. Besides our amazing cadre of hunger relief team members who feed the bodies of between 100 and 200 guests lunch and supper 365 days a year, MTKO also has on staff a registered dietitian. This individual provides a number of services, which also help nourish the bodies of our guests, but also assists with the nourishment of their minds and souls.
Some of these services include one-on-one medical nutrition therapy, group nutrition presentations, the nutrition portion of Life Skills classes, menu reviews and evaluation, writing articles about nutrition for newsletters, raising a vegetable and herb garden, and conducting cooking classes. The teaching helps nourish the clients' minds so that they are better able to help nourish their own bodies.
Medical nutrition therapy is therapy used to help individuals with various nutrition-related health issues including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, food allergies, and unintended weight loss from various causes.
Group nutrition presentations are generally directed towards basic good nutrition but can be geared towards a specific topic if desired. Likewise, the Life Skills classes are directed towards overall good nutrition; however, budgeting for good nutrition and food safety are other topics which are covered. Again both of these activities help nourish clients' minds so that, with their newly learned information, they can better nourish their bodies.
MTKO's dietitian is familiar with guidelines for the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved food programs which are based on good nutrition guidelines and reviews menus based on this knowledge. She writes articles for newsletters -- helping to disseminate valid nutrition information to our volunteers and supporters.
The dietitian, with much assistance from guests, staff, and other volunteers, has started a garden on the grounds of MTKO, where guests and volunteers can learn some of the skills of horticulture, an excellent activity for helping promote physical fitness. The abundant produce is distributed to guests, staff, and volunteers of MTKO, helping encourage good nutrition. Garden produce is also used extensively in cooking classes conducted by the dietitian.
Guests have learned how to use healthy produce to make nutritious, tasty and low-cost dishes. They love the delicious results and are excited to participate in classes which teach them new skills and how to use some common and not-so-common vegetables and herbs.
An offshoot of the cooking classes has been participation of a guest team in a chili cook-off held at the University of Nebraska each fall. The MTKO team has won an award each year they have entered. It is so thrilling to see some of our guests take pride and ownership in the chili they have helped create. Even guests who are not on the team come to the cook-off. Many inquire about the results. This is the ultimate nourishment of body, mind, and soul, helping guests learn to make a nutritious dish, learning new skills and helping give them purpose and recognition for a job well-done.
