Food has always brought communities together. But what happens when entire communities struggle to stay afloat and the rising costs of groceries limits access to fresh food so that financial anxiety around grocery shopping becomes too much?
Through a grant from Arlington County’s Green Valley Neighborhood Partnership Initiative, in partnership with Macedonia Baptist Church and Virginia Cooperative Extension, Arlington Thrive brought Cooking Up Community to Green Valley. Together, we offered the community a culturally relevant cooking class that provided healthy, budget-friendly recipes and financial planning tips and tricks.
Through the generosity of Chef Anthony Ward and Ward Culinary Solutions, on October 14th, 27 members of the Green Valley community learned how to prepare an affordable take on Goulash, an American classic. Attendees walked away with more than just a recipe. The Virginia Cooperative Extension provided a Grocery Budgeting course, introducing people to different planning steps, tricks, and more to set them up for grocery budgeting success.
Arlington Thrive provided grocery bags full of the ingredients needed to prepare Chef Ward’s recipe at home, plus a few pantry staples, and a grocery gift card for each household.
A huge thank you to all who made this event possible. We hope to continue bringing the joys of community and cooking to our neighbors in Green Valley and other Arlington neighborhoods!
