SILOAM SPRINGS -- Bridges to Wellness of Siloam Springs recently received a $15,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to promote healthy eating and living.
The organization plans to use the money to expand its free Cooking Matters program to Decatur and to host three series of Cooking Matters classes in Siloam Springs. It also plans to partner with The Garden in Siloam Springs and the city to host a game show-style "Sliced and Diced" event, according to Amy Martin, of Bridges to Wellness.
Bridges to Wellness is a rural health nonprofit with the mission of mobilizing community wellness to create healthy energetic communities, according to the organization's website.
Cooking Matters classes in Decatur will be held from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday for six weeks, beginning on March 5. The location will be announced at a later date, Martin said. Participants can register by calling Bridges to Wellness at 479-549-3143.
Cooking Matters classes in Siloam Springs will be held from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday at Fellowship Bible Church, starting on Feb. 6.
"Cooking Matters program is a series of engaging courses that empower participants to select, purchase and prepare healthy foods on a limited budget," Martin said.
During the free six-week class, participants learn how to make recipes using healthy ingredients. At the end of each class, they receive a bag of groceries full ingredients needed to prepare the recipes in class, Martin said.
The hands-on classes include recipe modifications for families and for people with diabetes. All materials are in English and Spanish, and the class in Decatur will feature a Spanish language translator.
Bridges to Wellness will also be partnering with the Farmers Market to host classes at the market in August and September. The classes will feature ingredients available at the market, she said.
The organization has hosted seven Cooking Matters classes in the past six weeks and the classes are one of their most sought after programs, Martin said.
Martin said the organization decided to expand its programming in Decatur because research shows the community has a high rate of of poverty, obesity and diabetes. The need in the community fits well with Bridges to Wellness' mission, she said.
"Both Siloam Springs' and Decatur's diabetes rates are three times the national average," she said.
Sliced and Diced, now in its second year, is modeled after a popular cooking reality show. It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 27.
Sliced and Diced will feature three local celebrity chefs who will face off to see who can create the best appetizer and entree with a select group of ingredients, according to Patty Gambill, director of The Garden.
The ingredients in the challenge will be similar to what will be grown in The Garden in Siloam Springs, a free community garden located behind Grace Episcopal Church.
Sous chef for the competition will be chosen randomly from the crowd and judges will be picked from the audience through a game-show-style competition. There will also be plenty of door prizes, T-shirts and bags of groceries given away, Gambill said.
General News on 01/27/2016