Serving at the New Hampshire Food Bank matters to this AmeriCorps member

By Julie Forest, Cooking Matters AmeriCorps member

My life changed when I began looking for healthier futures in myself and my community by signing up for a year of service with AmeriCorps. The New Hampshire Food Bank offered a Cooking Matters® AmeriCorps position to bring cooking and nutrition classes throughout the state. I had seen No Kid Hungry on the Food Network but didn’t know how it connected with Cooking Matters. I have since learned Cooking Matters is part of Share Our Strength’s: No Kid Hungry national movement partnering with leaders like the New Hampshire Food Bank to end childhood hunger in the United States.

I knew childhood hunger was a national problem when I became an AmeriCorps member, but I didn’t know it was so prevalent in my home state of New Hampshire. One in five kids doesn’t know when or where they will get their next meal.* This impacts their developing brains and bodies, causing unforeseen harm in our communities. Now is the time to build a healthier future for myself and the kids in New Hampshire by serving the community.

Even though there are so many struggling with hunger, I know that the cooking and nutrition classes I facilitate through Cooking Matters in New Hampshire make a difference. I serve in a unique position to bring community leaders as volunteers to teach cooking and nutrition to those at risk of- or suffering from hunger. Together, we educate and provide access to programs that empower Cooking Matters course participants to shop and cook nutritious, affordable, and delicious meals for their families.

Since I started my year of service I’ve seen amazing things! Families are coming together to create tasty meals that feed their bodies and their relationships. Parents are learning to stretch their food dollars to provide nutritious meals for their families. Kids and teens are realizing that they can make smart food choices in the school lunch line, when they are out and about, and at their family table. Volunteers are recognizing the hunger in their communities and are motivated to end it. I have witnessed and taken part in all this because I took a pledge as an AmeriCorps Service member to build healthier futures in America.

*Statistic from https://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts