Improve nutrition for poor children

Reaching low income families with nutrition education is a challenge at best. Although public and privately funded classes are available, reaching this specific audience with nutrition education can be challenging. Some of the issues faced are: nonstandard work hours, inability to commit due to fluctuating schedules, standard marketing techniques not reaching the target market, limited mobility, and low confidence in the ability to change cooking and eating habits.

Better Bites aims to overcome these barriers by providing weekly premade frozen meals to families with nutritional education. The premise behind each meal will be to make it appealing, delicious, and a healthy alternative to many families’ typical meals. Meals will be well-rounded nutritionally, prepared using local ingredients where possible, and created from ‘common’ ingredients readily available from grocery stores the target consumer may have in their neighborhood, food pantries, and purchasable with WIC vouchers.

The educational piece will discuss food preparation and healthy eating tips, such as ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into meals or after school snack ideas. Better Bites will hold the line in the education local public health agencies and organization currently provide; we will work with community partners to provide the same guidelines WIC provides, give the same information UW Extension delivers, and use the same material after school programs distribute. Our goal is to create an additional vehicle to get this information onto dinner tables with an attractive, easy to read flier.

Better Bites seeks to reach out to agencies that already have a relationship with individuals in need of nutritional assistance. In August, we will start serving 50 families a week. Agencies that are able to safely store and distribute meals will “order” meals each week, take delivery, and distribute to their families. An optional evaluation piece will be included to get feedback on meal taste, packaging, and the education piece.

We have immense community support in the way of food, kitchen use, personnel time, packaging, printing, and storage, but there are some things only money can buy.

Your donation will help bring healthy, balanced meals and nutrition education to those in need. In addition to being part of a great project to improve nutrition, you will receive a year end summary of your donations for tax deduction purposes. Please donate today!