Dayton, Nevada– The public is warmly invited to join dietitian Kim Mason, AmeriCorps members, and Dayton Food Pantry director Alie Trier for a healthy cooking demonstration, followed by dinner, on Monday December 19th, 2016 at 5:30pm at the Dayton Valley Community Center at 170 Pike Street. The class is completely free, no need to register, and everyone is welcome.

The theme this month is “Food as Celebration.” Participants will learn how to prepare pumpkin sauce and pasta, pumpkin latte, chocolate silk pie, strawberry Santas and Christmas tree vegetable platters. Dietitian Kim Mason will explain the nutritional benefits of pumpkin and other fall vegetables. She’ll also offer options for healthy holiday menus, and creative ideas for utilizing dry milk.

Cooking begins at 5:30pm and participants will sit down together to eat at around 6:15pm.

On the third Monday of each month, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties hosts a free cooking demo and dinner featuring healthy menu possibilities that incorporate varying foods distributed through USDA Commodities each month. For instance, this month’s recipes include USDA Commodities’ canned cherries and pumpkin, dry milk, and instant potatoes.

Questions? Call Healthy Communities Coalition at 246-7550.

Part of A Regional Healthy Food Hub: The cooking classes are one of many “spokes” in a regional healthy food hub.

As part of a “Healthy Food Hub” – an effort to increase access to and demand for affordable, locally and sustainably grown food – Healthy Communities promotes a number of initiatives and programs such as school and community gardens and hoop houses and gardening classes and clubs, Jackrabbit Junction (a year-round in-door farmers market), summer farmers market at Community Roots, school salad bars with local produce, volunteer-powered food pantries in Silver Springs and Dayton, Community Roots nonprofit plant nursery, and cooking classes that emphasize affordable, healthy menus.