CHOP: Cooking Classes at HWFC
by Anastasia Rodgers
Each Semester Honest Weight welcomes a new set of students from Albany Medical College’s CHOP program. CHOP is an acronym for “Cooking Healthy Options with Patients” and offers a free, hands-on learning experience to the community in the Teaching Kitchen. Since its inception in Fall 2018, the CHOP program has undergone several transformations, leading to two primary initiatives: Dining with Diabetes and CHOP with Honest Weight.
Dining with Diabetes provides hands-on cooking classes people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and their families, teaching them how to prepare and enjoy nutritious meals. CHOP with Honest Weight aims to make nutritional education accessible to all, offering budget-friendly cooking classes that encourage healthy meal preparation regardless of socio-economic status.
The CHOP program offers 6 classes annually at Honest Weight—three in the fall and three in the spring—covering topics like protein-rich meals, plant-based cooking, and holiday dishes with blood sugar-friendly options. You can find the schedule listed on the Honest Weight event calendar.
For the upcoming Spring semester, Honest Weight welcomes Kevin, Olivia and Tony for classes on March 23rd at 11am and April 26th at 5pm in Honest Weight’s Teaching Kitchen!
The CHOP series is a part of the students’ Service Learning Program at Albany Medical College. This initiative goes beyond academic learning, immersing students in the realities of community health and well-being. By engaging with local organizations and community members, students develop compassion, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health that impact the populations they will one day serve as physicians. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines social determinants of health as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, worship, and age." These non-medical factors significantly influence health outcomes, encompassing areas such as access to healthy food, quality education, transportation, stable housing, and safe home environments. Addressing these determinants is crucial for reducing health disparities and improving community well-being.
To fulfill their service-learning hours, Albany Medical College students partner with a diverse range of community organizations, allowing them to support critical programs and experience the profound impact of social factors on health. These partnerships expose students to hands-on experiences that foster empathy, adaptability, and a holistic approach to patient care. Students earn service-learning hours in programs across the capital region such as:
-South End Children’s Cafe: Through their Cooks 4 a Cause program, addressing food insecurity while learning hands-on about the broader social issues that affect child health and development.
-Double H Ranch: Children with life-threatening illnesses and their families are able to relax and connect through recreational programming. Through this work students gain valuable insight into the emotional and social needs of pediatric patients with complex medical conditions.
-Capital District Latinos: Students engage with members of the local Latino community, building cultural competence while supporting educational, health, and community-building initiatives.
These are just a few examples of the expansive work Albany Medical College students are doing to engage with their community. HWFC looks forward to continuing to aid them in this endeavor, however CHOP evolves!
Gratitude & Acknowledgement for Fall 2024 Semester’s CHOP Program Students; Allison Haynes and Andrew Rosenweig, alongside their professor Nirav Chaudhari, for their assistance with this article and their work with HWFC!
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