Crockpot Freezer Meals for Low-Income Families and 89

Our service area has four libraries, so we would identify about ten families and/or 89 in each location, if possible. Ten families and/or 89 at a time will meet and learn how to make a week's worth of crockpot meals that are easy, inexpensive, and nutritious. They will be taught how to budget and buy for a week's worth of meals and how to portion the food appropriately to provide necessary nutritional value. Classes will be held at local community buildings that have a full commercial kitchen facility. The assembled group will all work together to create five freezer meals to take home to cook later. Each family and/or senior will also receive a crockpot, knife block set for food prep, and cutting board and a copy of all the recipes for the meals made during the program. In addition, they will receive a copy of the book Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown, which features easy, healthy recipes that cost less than $4 per meal. When participants leave this program, they should have everything they need to be headed in the right direction towards healthy, affordable meals for themselves and their families. Each class will start with a brief 10-15 min educational portion before cooking starts, with a general discussion about the components of a nutritious and healthy diet. Participants will be shown MedlinePlus and how to navigate through the Health Topics to the Nutrition page. Participants will be directed to ChooseMyPlate.gov, to learn more about meal planning to fit nutrition guidelines. Library District #1 Doniphan County will: 1. Provide four 10-15 minutes sessions of instruction to raise awareness of health information resources one at each cooking class. 2. Facilitate and promote four cooking classes. 3. Evaluate all activities as to their effectiveness in achieving goals of the project. Goals: 1. Educate families and 89 about how to make healthy, nutritious, and affordable meals. 2. Increase awareness of health information resources.