Nutrition & Healthy Eating

In an effort to better educate our refugee communities on nutrition and healthy eating, CRIS has connected with Karen Rakoczi at the Ohio State University Extension to provide refugees with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).This 8-week program consisted of a series of classes with a group of 20 Nepali seniors learning about how to make healthy food, nutrition, and lifestyle choices. Participants met each week to learn new skills including how to read nutrition labels, understanding portion size, the components of a balanced diet, and how to make healthy choices at the grocery store on a limited budget. For one of the sessions, the group met at the Community Health Resource Center at Mount Carmel West to make use of their community kitchen and explore the Consumer Health Library, giving participants an expanded view of resources that exist in the community and how to access them. Knowing how to make healthy food and lifestyle choices is a critical component of overall physical and mental health. This course aimed to give participants the opportunity to learn new skills and information that they will then bring back into their own lives, their families, and their community.