101 North Main Street, Oxford, OH 45056 | 513-523-6364 | office@oxfordpresbychurch.org
Eradicating Systemic Poverty through Nutrition Education, Food Preparation, and Service
As stated in the ESP Mission Statement, our goal is to work to change laws, policies, plans, and structures in our society that perpetuate the economic exploitation of people who are underrepresented. The work of our team is not only focused on looking years in advance to make changes to policies in our community, but is also focused around aiding those right here and now in our backyard. One significant way we do this is through the nutrition education and service that ESP and OPC members spearhead, fund, and participate in. The OPC ESP team and Miami University Nutrition Students have been working together to provide nutrition education and healthy meals for the Oxford community: sharing knowledge and nurturing bodies and souls.
Nancy Parkinson, OPC and ESP member and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Nutrition Professor at Miami University, has headed up projects in our community such as Free Monday Meals, Nutrition Education at Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services (TOPSS), Lunch and Learn Nutrition Education programs, and Pantry Pick-List Programs that allows students access to nutrition education and easy to prepare food on a weekly basis.
The monthly Monday Meals are presented by Miami University Nutrition Students, The Oxford Senior Center, and Faith Communities in Oxford. Volunteers from OPC hosted the November 2022 meal in conjunction with Miami Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Midshipmen to honor veterans and current service members in the community. In total, the Monday Meals have served over 600 free meals both as dine-in meals and drive-through-to-go meals for the convenience of the patrons.
At TOPSS, there is weekly nutrition education and recipe demonstrations provided to the patrons of the pantry as they receive their groceries. These demonstrations offer a free snack and recipe with guidance on the nutritional benefits of the snack.
The weekly Lunch and Learn programs have impacted over 500 students at Miami University. This program introduces students to a nutritional topic and recipe. This provides students with a kit to recreate the recipe and duplicate a healthy snack or meal in their dorm room or apartment. Through the Lunch and Learn program, students who participate can sign up to receive information regarding the Pantry Pick-List. The pick list, through the generosity of OPC donations and ESP resources, provides students the ability to select from a list of available food products and pick up the package the following week. Thus far, the pick-list has served 72 students.
The generosity of OPC and the hard work of ESP members has allowed this program to benefit many people by providing resources to help them best take care of their nutritional needs. In the upcoming months, Free Monday Meals will be served at the Oxford Senior Center on February 13th, March 13th, April 10th, and May 8th from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm. The nutrition education workshops at TOPSS are on Monday evenings from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm. As we look to the future, the ESP team plans to continue supporting these programs and seeking better solutions to the ongoing challenges surrounding food insecurity and nutrition education in our Oxford community.
