The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, as lead partner in the Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign, brought Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters program to Arkansas two years ago as part of a pilot program focusing on nutrition education. Now, as we have completed our first year as a fully funded program, it seems as though we have reached a tipping point. By stressing the Cooking Matters message at every opportunity (on Facebook and Twitter, in our Alliance Alert newsletter, at civic organization luncheons, in the media and in conjunction with our other Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign programs) we are giving organizations across Arkansas that are committed to child health and wellness a tremendous resource that they can incorporate in their missions.
As our message “sinks in” about the far-reaching benefits of teaching underserved adults, teens and families the skills they need to shop for and prepare nutritious meals on a budget, more cities, schools and organizations are choosing to become satellite partners. We provide our partners with the technical and material support they need to build sustainable programs in their communities. For example, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the nation, has recently made Cooking Matters at the Store an integral part of its nutrition education outreach program. They are offering hospital employees, patient families and others in their sphere of influence the opportunity to participate in Cooking Matters at the Store grocery tours. Arkansas Children’s Hospital anticipates facilitating 500 tours in 2013.
Additionally, we have formed a satellite partnership with the Little Rock School District and the City of Little Rock to introduce Cooking Matters in five of the eight elementary schools as part of their Love Your Schools community initiative. Cooking Matters fits perfectly into this important initiative that engages students, school staff, parents, caregivers and the nearby community in increased access to healthy living opportunities. They are on track to meet their goal of 75 participants by the end of 2013.
The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, our pilot program partner and current satellite partner, continues spreading the Cooking Matters message to at-risk communities across the state. They are working actively with Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System’s Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program to empower veterans with skills to help them successfully reintegrate after active duty. It was a veteran’s grocery tour that USDA Under Secretary Concannon joined on his recent visit to Little Rock. The Cooperative Extension Service is also partnering with the Sonora Middle School, in northwest Arkansas, to offer four Cooking Matters for Teens signature courses to 40 students through 2013.
So what are the prospects for the future of Cooking Matters in Arkansas? Our state has the highest percentage of food insecure households in the nation (19.2%). With the prospect of cuts to SNAP funding looming large, the importance of teaching underserved adults and families the skills they need to stretch their food budgets is all the more compelling. Through Cooking Matters, we have an opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of a tremendous number of people in Arkansas. We are up to the challenge.