BRATTLEBORO — RiseVT–Windham County is spreading the importance of families eating dinner together in the area with a pilot program focusing on easy-to-make dips and sauces to accompany fresh, seasonal veggies.
As part of its Dinner Together initiative, which focuses on the social and emotional benefits of families sharing meals together, local Program Manager Elisha Underwood and her team created Summer Harvest Seasoning Packets and a Summer Cooking Demonstration video series.
“These local additions to Dinner Together offer recipes, tips, and ingredients for dips, dressings, sauces, and seasonings to make it fun and easy to make food at home and share family meals,” according to a news release.
A program of the nonprofit OneCare Vermont, RiseVT collaborated with Food Connects, Retreat Farm, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Edible Brattleboro, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to create opportunities for families to make dinners out of the fresh produce that they can get or grow around here.
In the video series, registered dietitian Carrie Quimby from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital walks viewers through making an easy chick pea hummus, tahini-lime dressing, and a mushroom cream sauce.
These recipes accompany vegetables and make it easier to consume more local produce this harvest season. They include accompanying tips for making regular meals together a habit, having engaging conversation and interactions at the dinner table, and building strong social and emotional connections.
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital offers a free online Diabetes Prevention Program, which supports individuals to make lifestyle changes that can reverse a diagnosis of pre-diabetes.
As described on the OneCare Vermont website, RiseVT's mission is “improving health outcomes through the environments where we live, work, learn, and play.” The organization, through satellite operations throughout each county in the state, looks for ways to support these individuals by offering programs like the ones described here.