Local Food Pantries Offer Free Nutrition Education Workshops with Help from Urban Alliance Grant Funding

Sep 20, 2016 | UA News

Article and photos by Urban Alliance staff.

Backed by federal funding, The University of Saint Joseph is offering free nutrition education sessions and workshops with food preparation demos to local food pantry clients.

And, through a collaboration with the University of Saint Joseph, Urban Alliance is supplementing and enhancing this valuable effort by providing grant funding for organizations who participate in Urban Alliance’s Revitalize or Beyond the Basics initiatives.

Funding will allow organizations who host a workshop to purchase ingredients for community members to take home, to prepare the recipes that are presented during their workshop.

Bible Way Temple Nation hosted a workshop, which was focused on lean protein, on September 16, and Citadel of Love plans to host a workshop about fruits and vegetables. 

If your organization would like to participate in Revitalize or Beyond the Basics, contact Angela Colantonio, Urban Alliance’s Director of Implementation, Health & Basic Needs Initiatives, at 860.986.7328 or angela.colantonio@urbanalliance.com

Click here to learn more about Beyond the Basics.

The staff at Urban Alliance are familiar with Pastor Frank because he is a regular attendee to many of the trainings Urban Alliance provides on subjects like domestic violence, addressing childhood trauma, and better counseling techniques. “That’s been so valuable to me to be able to bring that back, not only in my counseling but also in my teaching and preaching ministries, “ shared Termine.

Pastor Frank was also one of the original members of the Micah group, a group of pastors that meets at Urban Alliance to discuss and strategize about challenging issues that face the church today. One of those earlier discussions on justice, incarceration, and returning citizens was particularly memorable. “We all lamented the fact that these men and women were coming out of prison into our churches and just kind of being thrown there,” said Termine, “We could do better than this.” That discussion planted the seeds that eventually led to the creation of Second Chance Churches – an opportunity for churches to provide support and mentoring to returning citizens that continues today.

When we asked Pastor Frank what he would say to another church that was unaware of Urban Alliance, he said, “If you are looking to get out in the community and make a difference in the community, Urban Alliance is a super way to do it. We’re a small church … we can’t do everything. Urban Alliance is a pathway to get our people involved in ministries that are already doing it, doing it well, and just need extra volunteers.”

Pastor Frank Termine’s story embodies many things we are trying to accomplish at Urban Alliance: supporting organizations in the communities they serve with training, resources, and opportunities to make a difference. Pastors and non-profit leaders face a wide range of challenges and, therefore, need a wide range of help and resources. Your support can help turn stories of struggle into stories like you find at Calvary Church.

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