 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
         |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| navigate: home: magazine: fall 1999: article | |
|
Food for thought SuperCupboards for families across Pennsylvania By Kristine Lalley | ||||||
|
For families facing the challenge of providing healthy meals on a fixed income, creative ideas can be the best way to courageously conquer the kitchen. For a one-stop shopping experience where families can learn new recipes, improve cooking skills and plan meals appropriately, all while carefully managing a budget and enhancing personal and vocational skills, SuperCupboards is the answer. In Pennsylvania, many organizations have joined together to address the food security needs of their communities through SuperCupboards programs. This partnership includes Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, county health and social services offices, churches and religious organizations and low-income housing projects. The goal of SuperCupboards is to educate frequent users of emergency food services, using a combination of food assistance, nutrition education, food preparation and basic living skills, including job readiness. Classes are conducted in small-group settings, where participants learn to improve their family and personal management skills through hands-on practice in preparing healthful meals and in developing other skills that lead to increased self-reliance. “While primarily intended to break the cycle of chronic dependency on emergency food supplies, SuperCupboards classes also address other needs of the local community and other interests of the individuals taking the class,” Julie Haines, extension associate for the Department of Food Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, said. The registered dietitian added, “For instance, beyond the food-oriented instruction, guest speakers may come in to talk about parenting, job readiness, first aid, home security, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other topics.” SuperCupboards is designed to meet the specific needs of individual communities across the Commonwealth. Community donations of facilities, time and supplies enhance local ownership of the program. Some communities seek grants for start-up funding; others offer the program using existing funds. Although similarities exist among SuperCupboards programs, no two are exactly alike. More than 15 SuperCupboards programs are offered in the Philadelphia area, where SuperCupboards was created by the Greater Philadelphia Anti-Hunger Council in 1987. Since then, SuperCupboards has served as a national model for many emergency food service programs. Philadelphia region partners include the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition against Hunger and SHARE. “The collaboration among these major organizations has helped to make SuperCupboards programs such a success in the greater Philadelphia region,” John Byrnes, extension agent, said. “SuperCupboards also received a grant from the Pew Charitable Trust that provides funding for on-site baby-sitting, stipends for program coordinators and additional support for classroom materials.” One of the most successful SuperCupboards programs in Philadelphia is offered to residents of the Korean community. Classes are conducted at the Philadelphia Cooperative Extension office and have a high number of participants, Byrnes said. In Centre County, SuperCupboards programs have been conducted since 1995. Guest speakers address a variety of topics, including those suggested by participants. Classes are held once a week over an eight-week period. Nutrition educators from Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), as well as Penn State students majoring in nutrition provide instruction on basic nutrition, shopping, menu planning, food safety and cooking skills. A study conducted by Haines, Madeleine Sigman-Grant, former associate professor of food science at Penn State, and Judith W. Heald, program manager of EFNEP for Pennsylvania, revealed a need for SuperCupboards in the Centre County region. “The research suggested that participation in a program that can change attitudes about meal preparation from something that has to be done to something that is fun and important can have a significant effect on nutritional behavior,” Haines said. “SuperCupboards looked like the answer. It not only gives instructions on food budgeting, but also on other issues by using guest speakers. They talk about a lot of things, including parenting, self-esteem, renters’ rights, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, stress management, and even carpentry and basic plumbing.” Results from the Centre County evaluations reveal that the participants leave the program with knowledge in many important areas, as well as with more self-confidence and self-reliance, according to Haines. “The long-term success of this program will be measured in the changes it promotes in participants’ lives in the future. Ideally, SuperCupboards graduates will decrease their use of emergency food and many other emergency services,” Haines added. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture continues to provide funding for pilot programs in several counties across the Commonwealth. For more information about SuperCupboards, contact:
John Byrnes and
Julie Haines An outreach program of the College of Agricultural Sciences | |||||
| ||||||
