By Brett Hetherington*

One of the biggest challenges to people today is making the decision and then following through on that decision to eat healthy meals. It can feel like a challenge to take the time to plan and prepare meals that are healthy, filling, and do not require an entire day spent in the kitchen.

“We hear people tell us all the time that ‘I don’t have time to make healthy meals.’ But we need to teach people that preparing a dinner at home can be done in 30 to 35 minutes. No more time than it would take to drive down the street and sit in line at the drive thru at Burger King,” said Joseph Spiccia, superintendent of the Wickliffe City School District and a ministry partner of the East Ohio Conference.

Part of his role as superintendent involves Spiccia overseeing the Family Resource Center outreach program the district operates to “bring together services and activities that educate, develop skills, and promote health and well-being in order to improve the outcomes of students, families, and individuals in our community.” To assist in accomplishing this goal, Spiccia applied for a grant through the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.

“The biggest issue we see at the Family Resource Center is food insecurity. And within food insecurity is really poor food choices. So, the way we wrote the grant is we are going to provide groceries – somewhere in the area of $100 – we cook them a meal, a nutritionist shares the nutrition information, and the chef talks about what she did in preparing the meal. The goal being to share that you can cook nutritionally, inexpensively in a half hour,” Spiccia said.

He connected the Family Resource Center to the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church through the Dine and Discover ministry partnership.

“Joe said ‘we want to go after this grant would The United Methodist Church be our partner in Lake County?’ So, we had a quick meeting, I reached out to our district superintendent and a few pastors who would be involved if this grant got awarded and they said ‘yes’,” shared Rev. Kathy Dickriede, Connectional Ministries office Missions & Community Engagement director.

Over the initial two months, Dine and Discover events have been simple events to get into. A chef prepares a meal that can be easily reproduced, a nutritionist shares some helpful information and allows time for participants to ask questions, and additional helpful resources are shared. Each participant is sent home not only with the recipe but also with all the ingredients needed to cook the meal.

“If you eat a meal that agrees with you, you’re going to feel light, you’re going to feel vibrant, energetic. You’re going to want to go for a walk, continue conversation. That’s the hallmark of a meal that agrees with you. And that’s what we hope to do with Dine and Discover, to provide a meal that is nutrient-dense and made from high-quality food,” shared nutritionist Shawn Cooper.

Dine and Discover events are currently expected to run into the fall after a brief hiatus over the summer. Previous meals have been held in Wickliffe, Madison and neighboring communities – primarily in United Methodist churches.

“They knew that churches had kitchens, community, and opportunities to reach out and do those things. It’s been a great first opportunity for this. I really want other churches to know that there is such a thing as a faith-based grant from the state of Ohio that partnerships could be created and we can be stronger together than we can individually,” Dickriede said.

The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call of Bishop Tracy S. Malone to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.

* Brett Hetherington is the Communications specialist for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.