Training kitchen aims to combat hunger
On more than one occasion, Richmond residents received fresh fruits and vegetables through community food programs – only to be left behind, unsure how to cook what they’d been given. Now, a new training kitchen at Ray County Hospital is turning that problem into a recipe for better health.
Thanks to a grassroots fundraising effort, a Rotary Club grant and a growing movement toward community wellness, the fully equipped kitchen will host free cooking classes aimed at tackling hunger, poor nutrition and chronic illness across Ray County. The space was created through a partnership between Richmond Rotary and Project Guardian, the hospital’s Population Health Initiative.
“What inspired our Rotary Club to fund a training kitchen at Ray County Hospital was very simple: there was a need,” said Rotary President Becky Treccariche.
“On many occasions, Harvesters and Commodities from the Senior Center gave out fruit and vegetables and the recipients had no idea how to prepare or cook them,…