What they do: The Saint Barnabas Hospital (SBH) Center for Culinary Medicine and Teaching Kitchen in the Bronx provides healthy cooking classes at low cost ($5 per class) to any interested community members. In addition, the center’s director, Abbie Gellman, hosts training sessions for medical residents and teaches specialized series in partnership with local organizations. For example, the center offers a three-week series for pregnant women with gestational diabetes in collaboration with the NYC Department of Health, and events for individuals with diabetes in conjunction with the community-based organization VIP Community Services. These specialized classes and events incorporate both cooking lessons and nutrition education.
How they do it: There are generally three or four community classes offered each week. Examples include:
- Meal Prep: Learn the basics of planning a balanced meal, using a chef’s knife, and essential cooking techniques
- Rainbow Meals: Learn to include all colors of the nutrition rainbow in cooking
- Healthy Desserts: Learn how to make healthier versions of classic desserts
Classes that reflect the culture of the community, including Caribbean Cooking and Soul Food, are also available.
Private classes for medical residents are offered monthly.
Community classes are taught by culinary nutrition educators, and private group sessions, medically-tailored series, and sessions for medical residents are taught by chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and center director Abbie Gellman.
Most classes include an hour to 1.5 hours of cooking skills, and, depending on the class and audience, nutrition education may be incorporated at the end of the class. Some classes also build in gardening lessons in partnership with Project EATS, which has a rooftop garden in the same building as the teaching kitchen.
Mission: To teach the community and medical professionals how to prepare meals that are easy, delicious, affordable, and nutritious.
Major Funding: n/a
Profit/nonprofit: Nonprofit
Annual Budget: n/a
Interesting fact about how it is working to positively affect health: The center hosted the Healthy Living Initiative, a five-week cooking and nutrition education series, for 100 adolescents who were referred to the program by their physicians. Participant surveys showed that, after completing the series:
- 52 percent would often select healthy ingredients at the supermarket (a 160 percent increase from pre-program survey results)
- 60 percent would often make a meal with vegetables (a 275 percent increase)
- 48 percent would often prepare fruits or vegetables to eat (a 500 percent increase).
FACT SHEET:
Location:
4507 Third Ave.
Bronx, New York 10457
Core Programs: Teaching kitchen
Number of staff: 3
Number of volunteers: 1 dietetic intern
Areas served: Bronx, NY
Year Started: 2020
Program Director: Abbie Gellman, MS, RD, CDN
Contact Information: Email: SBHTeachingKitchen@Sbhny.Org | Phone: 718-960-3843
Learn More:
- Bronx Hospital Offers Kitchen Program that Teaches Preparing Healthy Food Dishes (News 12 Brooklyn)
- Bronx Teaching Kitchen Helping People Eat Healthier (PIX 11 News)
- Can You Smell What the Bronx is Cooking? Inside SBH’s $5 Teaching Kitchen Classes (Bronx Times)
- SBH Center for Culinary Medicine and Teaching Kitchen
- Stay Healthy by Eating Healthy (SBH Health System Bronx)
- St. Barnabas Teaching Kitchen Promotes Healthy, Nutritious Cooking with Simple Ingredients (CBS New York)
