Nutrition Access

Empowering the community through education

Through the Nutrition Access Program, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee improves access to nutrient-dense, culturally-affirming foods and provides educational food and cooking resources and programming.

1.

Our first priority

The goal of the Nutrition Access Program is to provide our neighbors opportunities to choose foods that align with their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Read our nutrition philosophy here.

2.

Cooking classes

Second Harvest cooking classes are live, hands-on cooking experiences tailored to the interests & abilities of various populations across all stages of life. In general, our cooking classes aim to improve food literacy and inspire creativity, exploration, & confidence in the kitchen while fostering healthy relationships with food & cooking.

Field trips

Second Harvest Field Trips offer service-learning opportunities for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. During a Field Trip, students receive a brief introduction to the food bank, participate in a cooking experience in our Nutrition Learning Center, & give back to their community through a volunteer shift tailored to their ages/abilities.

3.

Cooking classes by the numbers

49—the number of sites in the 2023-2024 fiscal year

13—the current number of counties served

1,898—the number of people served in the 2023-2024 fiscal year

23,872—pounds of food distributed in the 2023-2024 fiscal year

19,893—meals distributed in the 2023-2024 fiscal year

6—varieties of classes offered:

CookAbility: adults with disabilities
Cooking With Zest: adults enrolled in rehabilitation & recovery programs
Good EaTN Cooking Club: kids or kids & their adults
Good EaTN Cook-Alongs: agency partners
Seasoned to Taste: seniors & their caregivers
Spilled Milk: new & expecting families

4.

Allergy-friendly pantry initiative

The Allergy-Friendly Pantry Initiative aims to increase access to allergy-friendly alternatives for products commonly containing one or more of the Top 9 food allergens. Our goal is to establish at least 1 allergy-friendly food pantry in each of our 18 counties.

Education & outreach

The Nutrition Access program provides food & nutrition education in the community through printed & digital resources.

Examples include:

Fresh produce at outreach events
Printed food- & nutrition-related materials
- Recipes
- Coloring books
- SNAP resources
- General resources

5.

Get in touch

For more information about the Good EaTN Cooking Club, please contact one of our Nutrition Educators, Mary Clay or Allison. If you have questions about Second Harvest’s nutrition philosophy or nutrition policy/guidelines, please contact our Nutrition Access Manager, Courtney.