Bauman College supports a variety of community nutrition education courses offered via our Community Outreach Department. The Outreach Department provides ongoing free nutrition lectures, community whole food cooking classes, Farmer's Market demonstrations, turn-key Community Education Programs, and sponsorship for various community events.

Bauman College, as a leader in nutrition education, seeks to increase our impact in health and wellness education in our local and national communities, to build relationships with other Nutrition for Health non-profits and causes, and to develop volunteer and graduate Wellness Career opportunities in our community.

Past and current outreach partners include Whole Foods Market, the Growe Foundation, Live Oaks School District, The Slow Food Movement, The North Face Company, Pacific Coast Farmer's Market Association, Sonoma County Health Action, Petaluma Bounty, the Community Action Network and Nutrition Coalition (CANC), and many more.

The Outreach Department endeavors to support and contribute to Bauman College's non-profit mission to create a sustainable culture of holistic health and wellness in individuals and in the community. Kidz For Health™ and Transitional Nutrition™ are examples of our current Outreach projects.

Kidz For Health™ (K4H)

Kidz For Health™ is a 6-week after school whole food nutrition and cooking-fitness program for elementary school children that focuses on nutrition education, healthy food preparation, and whole food culinary skills. This program was created and developed by BC faculty, staff, and students.

KFH Mission Statement: Kidz For Health™ aims to educate and empower grade school children about Eating for Health™, making healthy food choices, and engaging in daily physical activity. Our goal is to help children understand the connection between eating healthy, being physically active, feeling good, and preventing diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Kidz For Health™ aspires to instill a sense of self-confidence and positive self esteem as a means to make positive life decisions.

Children in the Santa Cruz school districts are learning that Eating For Health™ is tasty and fun! Bauman College and Kidz For Health have been offering after school programs at Gault and Live Oak Elementary schools since 2007. Each week, a different theme is presented: Week One: The Fantastic Five Food Groups; Week Two: Eating a Rainbow; Week Three: Healthy Snacks vs. Nutrition Vampires; Week Four: Benefits of Breakfast; Week Five: Healthy Desserts Week; Six: A Seasonal Celebration: a review and celebration of what foods are in season.

Each class has six major components:

• Healthy Snacks - healthy pre-made snack and water are shared to nourish and hydrate, emphasizing mindful eating
• Nutrition Education Activity - these activities are designed to teach basic Eating For Health™ concepts
• Food Preparation - children follow recipes and learn valuable culinary skills which will help them to be better able to feed themselves as they grow
• Fitness Activity - activities promote body awareness
• Food Sharing - as everyone sits down together to enjoy the prepared food, several students and adults share what they are grateful for
• Take-Home Activity - children keep a simple food/activity journal that they share each week

All recipes have been kid tested and kid approved! While recipes vary according to the season and availability of food items, sample recipes include: Mini Pizza Pies, Rainbow Wraps, Fruit Kabobs, Power Balls, Baked Pita Bread Triangles, Sizzling Salsas, Sweet Potato French Fries, Homemade Granola, Smart Smoothies, Secret Ingredient Chocolate Pudding, Carrot or Pumpkin Muffins, Sweet Tamales, and Black Bean Fiesta Salad. Response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive. Some recent student comments: "I used to not like vegetables, but now I do."

Transitional Nutrition

Transitional Nutrition works with formerly-homeless residents living in transitional housing to improve their nutrition, cooking, and budgeting skills through weekly hands-on classes and skill-building workshops.

On September 28th, 16 low-income residents from the Mary Isaak Center Transitional Housing unit in Petaluma, California crowded into a conference room for the first Transitional Nutrition class in the 8-week series. The program is multi-faceted and, in addition to weekly education, we are thrilled to be able to partner with the Petaluma Bounty Farm and COTS to provide each resident weekly with a fresh, organic CSA box of produce. This is an integral part of the program to open up access to the vibrant, local fruit and vegetable surplus in our community and encourage the practice of recipes and skills learned in class.

Bauman College staff also works weekly with the Petaluma Kitchen and the Petaluma Kitchen Apprentices, who provide much of the cooked food to the Mary Isaak Center, to improve the flavor and nutrition content of the food prepared for the Shelter population. We hope to begin to create a culture of wellness within this very under-served population and to encourage the replication of a sustainable wellness model within the surrounding areas that we serve.

Contribute

Please consider donating to support our Community Outreach activities. All donations will directly support public benefit programs like those described above. Bauman College is a 501(c)3 non profit. All donations are tax deductible. We accept donations using Paypal payment system. Paypal can process all major credit cards, as e-checks, and more. Thank you for your support!

Contact Bauman College Outreach

To contact the Bauman College Community Outreach Department, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To contact a Regional Outreach Administrator:
Berkeley: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Boulder: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Penngrove: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Santa Cruz: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it