Make delicious and nutritious meals with these recipe cards for foods you can find at the famers market.

Beets

Broccoli

Butternut Squash

Cabbage

Greens

Kale

Kohlrabi

Patty Pan Squash

Peppers

Food Access

During the spring and summer of 2006, Steps to a Healthier Minneapolis contracted with four community organizations to increase nutrition education and improve food behaviors among residents. Each of the grantees took part in evaluations of their projects. The approaches the organizations took to achieve an increase in nutrition education ranged from weekly family nutrition classes to distribution of print materials about nutrition on the North side of Minneapolis.

Pillsbury United Communities – Waite House

The Waite House, located in South Minneapolis, conducted 8-week nutrition classes using the Simply Good Eating model. Three sets of classes were held for Latino families in Spanish, one set of classes for American Indians, and two sets of classes in English for African American and white families. In all, 32 individuals were served by these classes. In addition, five one-day workshops and one Health Fair were held, reaching over 540 adults and 300 children. 

All of the participants in the nutrition classes reported they gained knowledge about nutrition and changed the way they selected and prepared food for their families. They were more aware of fats, sugars, and calcium; and how to prepare balanced meals.

Minnesota FoodShare

This project was formed to work with partner organizations to use a variety of literature-based and hands-on educational approaches to produce a general climate of people talking about nutrition in the Near North community of Minneapolis. Over 8,000 pieces of information (including North Side health and nutrition information, Food Pyramids, and bilingual Smoke Free flyers) were distributed. Other activities included nutrition education classes and the development of a nutrition kiosk.

YWCA of Minneapolis Children’s Centers Nutrition Classes

This program, based in South Minneapolis, was formed to expand awareness of good nutrition in families at two YWCA Children’s Centers serving the highest percentages of low-income families residing in the Phillips neighborhood. Ten adults and 27 children attended Simply Good Eating nutrition classes with an average class size of 5; and 20 families attended a YWCA nutrition education event.

A vast majority of parents (95%) reported learning new skills or trying new foods or cooking techniques as a result of nutrition classes. 22 out of 24 families (92%) made progress on goals relating to fitness and nutrition.

Parents in Community Action (PICA)

The focus of this North Minneapolis nutrition program consisted of five interactive sessions and focused on teaching healthy eating skills – understanding the food pyramid, reading labels, controlling portion size, and using healthy cooking methods. Participants were provided with a healthy dinner at every session and received an ethnic cookbook at the end of the program. 20 parents attended these classes. The percentage of people who were confident they could prepare healthy meals increased from 81% at the beginning of classes to 100% at the end of classes.

Evaluation

The families participating in nutrition education classes were at very high risk for poor nutrition. Nearly half of those surveyed (49%) indicated their food and nutrition needs were not being met. In addition, 48% ate well-rounded meals with only one-third (36%) eating the recommended 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

By the end of the nutrition education classes, surveys showed that 100% of survey respondents were eating well-balanced meals and 94% were choosing lower fat foods over regular fat foods.

Evaluation Notes

Participants were asked to fill out pretests and posttests regarding their knowledge and behaviors concerning nutrition for themselves and their families. A core set of questions was common to all organizations offering nutrition education. Some organizations added extra questions, which are not presented below. 

In all, 79 participants filled out a pre- or posttest. Note that 67 pretests were conducted and 51 posttests were conducted. The number of matched pre- and posttests were too small to analyze. Evaluations from Minnesota FoodShare were not available for this analysis.

Table 1

Unmatched pre- posttest comparisons

Question	Pretest	Posttest
I eat meals that include a variety of foods from each of the food groups.	48%	100%
I have 3 servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese each day.	27%	82%
I eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.	36%	90%
I choose lower fat food instead of regular fat food.	39%	94%