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Click any program below to explore resources, tools, and information built for our community.
Free, personalized workshops that teach individuals and families the knowledge to make informed food choices at every stage of life.
Age and lifestyle-tailored meal plans and grocery guides designed to help you eat well and build lasting healthy habits.
A curated library of nutritious, affordable, and delicious recipes for every dietary need, cultural background, and family size.
We're working to bring free nutrition education to the Good Samaritan Hospital community. Stay tuned for updates.
Every action — big or small — nourishes our mission.
Every gift helps us deliver free nutrition education and resources to more individuals and families in underserved communities.
Give TodayWant to make an impact? Volunteer with The Nourish Initiative to help facilitate classes, support outreach efforts, and bring nutrition education to underserved communities.
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The Nourish Initiative believes that everyone deserves access to the knowledge and resources needed to live a healthy life. We provide free, personalized, nutrition education, and wellness resources that help individuals and families make informed food choices and create lasting healthy habits. This program will run in a three week session. Each free session will include five classes, each class focusing on something different to build the nutrition knowledge basis everyone deserves. Each class will be around one and a half hours and will include breaks.
The session includes:
Class 1 will engage the students in nutrition and wellness through the basics like building a plate, good foods to have in your diet, what drugs and alcohol specifically alter and control in your body, and an overview of nutrition. This class will set the foundation for the content in the other classes. The students will take a questionnaire in the beginning of class, about what they know about nutrition and optionally document any relevant medical conditions they have. In addition to the questionnaire the students will also sign a waiver, which states that this class is for getting an idea of things you should do to better your health, and any changes to diet and medication use should be consulted with their physician. The students will also get set up in the session Google Classroom and will gain access to the resources on The Nourish Initiative website. Lastly at the end of the class, the students will fill out an additional questionnaire that captures what was learned and what content needs to be revisited; this will ensure that the students get the full benefit of the class's content.
After getting the age of each student and physical activity level in the Class 1 questionnaire, the students will be split into the following three groups: older, younger, and more physically active. These sessions will focus on beneficial foods and what they do for your body, how to combat glucose spikes, digestive issues, and energy imbalances with certain foods, what effect certain synthetic foods have on the organs and functions in your body, as well as the order of foods in meals based on their contents, specifically for that group of students. The lesson will conclude with guidance on building weekly meal plans and grocery lists, with tailored meal plans posted to the session Google Classroom and The Nourish Initiative website for each group. Lastly at the end of the class, the students will fill out a questionnaire that captures what was learned and what needs to be revisited; this will ensure that the students get the full benefit of the class's content.
In the last class, all the students reunite to put their knowledge into practice. The students will learn real world applications such as ingredients to watch out for and avoid, simple meal prep habits, budget friendly ingredient swaps as well as identifying fake "nutritious" expensive foods. In addition, the students will eat unhealthy and nutritious foods and decide on which is the better option, as well as a grocery store layout psychology. Next the students will receive certain packaged foods, and they will need to identify unhealthy ingredients in those foods in a certain amount of time. Students will then get an option to create a personal action plan and fill out a questionnaire telling what needs to be improved on, how they would rate the class, and how well the students took in the information for all the mentioned topics in the class.
At home the students will receive an optional follow up questionnaire, asking what they've changed in their diet and how this class has changed their nutrition knowledge in long term real world application. This will be the final questionnaire and conclude the session. All tailored meal plans, class lessons, recipe sources, and all other information provided will remain live on the Google Classroom and The Nourish Initiative website.
As you can see this program is customized to the students' needs, age, and conditions. The student will gain a lot of useful knowledge and information that will benefit their lives. This class will not be just "don't eat this" — instead it will include a lot of reasons and explanations so the student doesn't get told what to do, but can make that decision on their own. Various resources such as custom meal plans, class lessons, recipe sources, and all other information will be provided to the student for their benefit. A lot of data will be documented throughout the course of the class, not only so the class can be enhanced, but also to show the effectiveness of the program to organizations and partners hosting the program. All questionnaires besides the first one in Class 1 and the last one in Class 5 will be optional but very much appreciated.
For instructors and program staff
→For enrolled program participants
→Nutrition Education Partnership
Despite state and local efforts to improve nutrition education, recent reductions in federal funding for programs such as SNAP-Ed may decrease access to nutrition education and healthy eating resources for some Colorado students and families. At the same time, childhood obesity and food insecurity remain ongoing challenges. Approximately 23.1% of Colorado children ages 6-17 are overweight or obese, while roughly 14.2% experience food insecurity.
Federal and state supported nutrition education programs such as SNAP-Ed and INEP reach thousands of students each year, yet these programs serve only a fraction of Colorado's more than 870,000 students. Additionally, a 2025 survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that 29% did not know what a healthy plate should look like, indicating widespread confusion about basic nutrition recommendations and persistent gaps in nutrition knowledge.
This challenge creates an opportunity for community organizations and nonprofits to help bridge the gap through nutrition education and wellness programming. By investing in nutrition today, communities can help empower the next generation to make informed health decisions, reduce preventable diet-related illnesses, and build a healthier future for all.
The Nourish Initiative believes that everyone deserves access to the knowledge and resources needed to live a healthy life. We provide free, personalized, nutrition education, and wellness resources that help individuals and families make informed food choices and create lasting healthy habits. This program will run in a three week session. Each free session will include five classes, each class focusing on something different to build the nutrition knowledge basis everyone deserves. Each class will be around one and a half hours and will include breaks. The session includes:
Class 1 will engage the students in nutrition and wellness through the basics like building a plate, good foods to have in your diet, what drugs and alcohol specifically alter and control in your body, and an overview of nutrition. This class will set the foundation for the content in the other classes. The students will take a questionnaire in the beginning of class, about what they know about nutrition and optionally document any relevant medical conditions they have. In addition to the questionnaire the students will also sign a waiver, which states that this class is for getting an idea of things you should do to better your health, and any changes to diet and medication use, should be consulted with their physician. The students will also get set up in the session google classroom and will gain access to the resources on The Nourish Initiative website. Lastly at the end of the class, the students will fill out an additional questionnaire that captures what was learned and what content needs to be revisited; this will ensure that the students get the full benefit of the class's content.
After getting the age of each student/physical activity in the Class 1 questionnaire, the students will be split into the following three groups: older, younger, and more physically active. These sessions will focus on beneficial foods and what they do for your body, how to combat glucose spikes, digestive issues, and energy imbalances with certain foods, what effect certain synthetic foods have on the organs and functions in your body, as well as the order of foods in meals based on their contents, specifically for that group of students. The lesson will conclude with guidance on building weekly meal plans and grocery lists, with tailored meal plans posted to the session Google Classroom and The Nourish Initiative website for each group. Lastly at the end of the class, the students will fill out a questionnaire that captures what was learned and what needs to be revisited; this will ensure that the students get the full benefit of the class's content.
In the last class, all the students reunite to put their knowledge into practice. The students will learn real world applications such as ingredients to watch out for and avoid, simple meal prep habits, budget friendly ingredient swaps as well as identifying fake "nutritious" expensive foods. In addition, the students will eat unhealthy and nutritious foods and decide on which is the better option, as well as a grocery store layout psychology. Next the students will receive certain packaged foods, and they will need to identify unhealthy ingredients in those foods in a certain amount of time. Students will then get an option to create a personal action plan and fill out a questionnaire telling what needs to be improved on, how they would rate the class, and how well the students took in the information for all the mentioned topics in the class.
At home the students will receive an optional follow up questionnaire, asking what they've changed in their diet and how this class has changed their nutrition knowledge in long term real world application. This will be the final questionnaire and conclude the session, all tailored meal plans, class lessons, recipe sources, and all other information provided will remain live on the google classroom and The Nourish Initiative website.
As you can see this program is customized to the students' needs, age, and condition/s. The student will gain a lot of useful knowledge and information that will benefit their lives. This class will not be just don't eat this, instead it will include a lot of reasons and explanations so the student doesn't get told what to do, but can make that decision on their own. Various resources such as, custom meal plans, class lessons, recipe sources, and all other information will be provided to the student for their benefit. A lot of data will be documented throughout the course of the class, not only so the class can be enhanced, but also to show the effectiveness of the program to organizations and partners hosting the program. All questionnaires besides the first one in Class 1 and the last one in Class 5 will be optional but very much appreciated.
I am requesting the conference room on the first floor of Good Samaritan Hospital for one and a half hours out of the weekend for three weekends, preferably early in the morning or in the evening. This ensures that students get the chance to be in the class and that they are engaged. I will arrive early to set up for the class and stay later to ensure I put everything back to how it was. I will work to keep the class at a respectful noise level so we don't disrupt patients, staff, and guests at Good Samaritan Hospital.
I am also requesting to advertise this program through flyers and posters around the hospital. This will not only be beneficial to the community but also show that Good Samaritan Hospital is not just a place for healing but also a place to receive lifelong skills that will help the student make the best decisions involving their health that they can.
Thank you for reading the program details and please consider my proposal. This program led by me, the founder and president of The Nourish Initiative, will benefit the community in ways that can alter their life. Nutrition and your diet have a huge impact on your body and your life. I personally have seen this firsthand, being born premature with celiac disease and many allergies: soy, egg, and dairy. My parents being young and my mom being an immigrant, they didn't know much about my condition and what I need to be having in my diet to support my body. I spent the first few months of my life not consuming anything because everything I would eat would give me an allergic reaction. I wasn't growing, doctors were telling my mom she was starving me, no parent should have to go through the pain she endured, watching me suffer. Until one doctor came into my life, he not only informed my parents about my conditions but he also worked with my parents, trying various diets until I found a suitable one. Nutrition and my diet changed my life and helped me to become the person I am today. That's why I started The Nourish Initiative — to better the lives of the community through lifelong nutrition knowledge, and why this program reflects Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital's mission to help people live their healthiest lives possible, bringing that mission beyond the hospital's walls and into the community.
Thanks,
