Kewaunee County Food Pantry Encourages Healthy Eating with Crock Pot Courses

As part of a city-wide initiative to live healthier in Algoma, WI, the Kewaunee County Food Pantry hosted a four-part series of nutrition classes on crockpot cooking. The most recent session, appropriately named “Rock Out with Your Crock Out,” was the third time the program was offered and taught by Laura Apfelbeck, an educator from the University of Wisconsin Extension FoodWIse program.

“The participants were very engaged, asking a lot of questions,” said Ken Marquardt, president of the Kewaunee County Food Pantry, a member of the Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin network. “Each week the instructor presented several recipes and they actually cooked those foods and everyone got to sample them.”

Kewaunee County Food Pantry partnered with East Shore Industries, a local Algoma nonprofit dedicated to serving those with disabilities, to use their classroom space. The recipes taught to the participants featured food pantry staples like black beans in black bean chili and brown rice in chicken and broccoli casserole.

Participants who completed the sessions all received a crockpot thanks to a grant provided by Live Algoma, the name of the city-wide health initiative, and a bag of brown rice to help them get started with healthy cooking. Crockpot cooking has proven to reduce fat and calories since no oil or frying is necessary. Crockpots can also make a large quantity of food with one-step preparation, leaving leftovers for easy lunches and dinners in the future.

Other health-conscious initiatives as part of Live Algoma include grocery stores providing a weekly healthy recipe, schools encouraging healthy eating to their students and providing weekend backpacks of food for families that struggle with hunger, and doctors encouraging active lifestyles by keeping statistics on how the community is improving.

Kewaunee County Food Pantry hosted a similar cooking class in the spring, but with a focus on using blenders. Participants were also provided with a blender after that session.  Marquardt shared that they hope to offer another nutrition class in the spring. Like Kewaunee County Food Pantry on Facebook for updates on these sessions.

To find a food pantry near you, click here.