Bedford VA’s cooking class is about nutrition education

At Bedford VA, nutrition and wellness educator Emily Bukovich is helping Veterans gain the skills and knowledge to lead healthier lifestyles through food. Her Healthy Teaching Kitchen cooking class provides hands-on nutrition education that equips Vets with practical tools for nourishment and self-care.

“The focus of the class is on integrating nutrition concepts into real life application like food and meal preparation to help maintain lifelong, permanent healthy lifestyle changes. The class is designed to increase the Veteran’s confidence in food preparation, management of one’s health and encourage healthier, more natural and less processed food choices,” Bukovich shared.

Air Force Veteran Dick Duffy attended her class. “The combination of the Move! program for weight loss, and the Healthy Teaching Kitchen for cooking skills and food knowledge really helped me improve my diet and habits long term,” Duffy said. “One thing we learned was how to cut vegetables and meat properly and safely, like how to hold and cut a tomato or bagel. That was valuable.”

Duffy also highlighted Bukovich’s commitment to Veterans. “Emily (pictured above) reached out and went the extra mile for us even during the pandemic when things were difficult. I knew she was trying her best through video classes when internet access was dicey. She never dropped the ball and was so caring, understanding and helpful in working to make the classes happen,” he said.

The nutrition education encouraged him to make lasting changes. “I’m right now probably about 20 pounds less than I was. The Move! Program was the first step in improving my diet and then the Healthy Teaching Kitchen was the next part,” he added.