OFS teaches kids, teens, families and adults how to plan, shop for and prepare healthy and delicious meals that are affordable. Education about shopping, cooking and nutrition helps build the food skills needed to put healthy meals on the table every day. Because low-income families are frequently preparing meals at home, strategies to help make home-cooked meals are critical in the fight to end childhood hunger.
Community Programs
- Virtual Classes
- Operation CHEF
- Grocery Store Tours
- Community Programs
- Workplace Wellness
- Food Pantry Focused
Virtual Cooking Classes
OFS provides a number of virtual learning options, including Cooking with Carmen (a bi-monthly Facebook live show), Quick Tips, virtual grocery store tours and virtual cooking demonstrations.
Learn more and watch past episodes of our virtual classes.
Operation CHEF
Culinary Habits to Empower Families is a nutrition-focused cooking class designed to teach families at risk of hunger fundamental culinary skills through hands-on lessons with nutrition education weaved into every recipe, discussion and activity.
To learn more, please fill out our application.
Grocery Store Tours
Through this Cooking Matters™ program, low-income adults learn how to get the most nutrition for their food dollars with an interactive, guided tour. Families on a tight budget report that the cost of healthy groceries is their biggest barrier to making healthy meals at home. Food skills, like smart shopping, can help overcome that barrier.
To learn more visit our tours at Cooking MattersTM.
Community Programs
These individual events create an interest in healthy eating for broad audiences in diverse community settings through simple recipes and helpful tips. Nutrition-focused culinary demonstrations and hands-on cooking classes empower participants with the skills, knowledge and confidence to make healthy, delicious and affordable meals.
To learn more, please fill out our application.
Workplace Wellness
On average, Americans working full time spend more than one-third of the day, five days a week, at the workplace. The use of effective programs and policies in the workplace can reduce health risks and improve quality of life. We understand that workplace wellness programming and policies are not a one-size-fits-all approach and will work with you to create a personalized approach to combating your company’s specific health related disparities.
View our flyer to learn more.
Food Pantry Focused
As a benefit to partnering with Operation Food Search, our Community Food Partner Agencies receive tailored nutrition education services free of charge. Services include onsite cooking demonstrations, recipe sampling, nutrition lessons and nutrition education materials. All educational services are customized to the food being distributed that day in food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.
To learn more, visit our Nutrition Education for Agencies page.
KEY FACTS
8,300+ individuals were empowered through our nutrition education programs across Missouri in 2019.
40+ counties in Missouri were reached via our satellite network of trained nutrition educators.
