Healthy cooking program supports recovery residents in Logan
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Healthy cooking program supports recovery residents in Logan
Addyson Porter | WVOW News
MUDFORK West Virginia Health Right’s Mobile Teaching Kitchen visited the Word of Life Church parking lot on Friday, July 31, to set up for the residents of Marjorie Oakley Home for Women and New Beginnings Home for Men.
This fully equipped unit hosted a healthy cooking demonstration focused on quick, easy, and budget-friendly meals that support good nutrition and long-term wellness.
Attendees were also sent home with a recipe for the meal prepared that morning.
This mobile kitchen provided practical cooking skills, fresh ingredients, and recipe ideas tailored to low-cost, nutritious eating.
“Our goal is to provide information, inspiration, and better cooking,” said Joseph McComas, executive director of the Recovery Group of Southern West Virginia. “Especially in our culture, we’re used to comfort foods. The goal of this is to open our residents up to new recipes.”
The event is part of Health Right’s ongoing mission to improve access to healthy food and nutrition education in underserved communities, easing food insecurity in Logan.
West Virginia Health Right is based in Charleston where they have three clinics, including a walk-in clinic on the West Side.
WVHR is a free and charitable health care system that treats patients on Medicaid, Medicare, and those without health insurance at no cost.
In addition to primary care, WVHR also provides free sports clinicals and works with specialists at Charleston Area Medical Center to perform cost-free surgeries and procedures.
During Friday’s event, there was a nurse health educator, Luci Britton, who measured blood pressures and weights and talked to participants about Body Mass Index (BMI), health care lessons, and healthy eating habits.
Britton said, “We’re out here to help people, feed everybody, and save some lives. It’s what we do.”
In Logan, food insecurity and rising grocery bills are taking a toll on the community; this event aimed to ease this burden.
Doctor Shayla Leftridge led the cooking class while speaking to the audience about the importance of good food and tips to lower costs.
“Health is more than just medicine,” said Dr. Leftridge. “It’s everything from food to finances and everything in between.”
This event was intended to serve the residents of the Marjorie Oakley Home for Women and the New Beginnings Home for Men, but anyone passing by was welcomed to grab a plate.
Pamela Gillenwater, Logan Recovery Community Center’s Community Relations Manager, said that this event is the first of its kind in Logan.
“We’ve never done anything like this,” said Gillenwater. “We’re just really excited to bring this to our residents.”
Although this event was beneficial for attendees, it is not a permanent fix.
Joseph McComas said, “I would like for something along the lines of nutrition to become regularly implemented. We need to find something that’s more frequent.”
McComas noted that the frequent turnover rates of both homes in Logan make the need for regular nutrition courses more urgent.
McComas said, “We have a good group here today, but we have two new residents coming on Monday who didn’t get this. We have some residents at work today who are missing out. We are working to find a longer-lasting resource.”
PHOTO | Addyson Porter