By Hannah Etman and Rachel Eldering, University of Maryland Dietetic Interns (Written during a rotation at The Vegetarian Resource Group)

Residential programs are a great option for people to find the support they need, get back on their feet, and even take classes to enhance practical skills. Christopher Place, an employment academy for men experiencing homelessness in Baltimore, Maryland, provides education, training, and recovery support for these men. The men commit to a minimum of six months in the program with the goal of gaining the skills and financial stability necessary to be successful after their stay. Christopher Place aims to aid the transition from homelessness, substance abuse, or dependency to finding employment and living a stable life. The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) member Marcy Schveibinz is privileged to teach 8-week sessions to the men at Christopher Place on various topics under the general umbrella of vegan eating. These classes help build knowledge and practical skills surrounding food.

     While completing our dietetic internship rotation with VRG, we had the opportunity to gain perspective on those who worked with Christopher Place. We spoke to two VRG interns, Adhi and Julia, as well as Marcy, a VRG volunteer, who has been leading the classes. Each one of them had valuable points to share when talking about their experiences with Christopher Place.  

     At Christopher Place, Marcy leads a structured classroom program in 8-week sessions, focused on vegan eating, where VRG interns also have the ability to create their own presentations for the classes. This class was originally created through a donation. The donation came from a vegan man who requested the money be used to teach about vegan eating. To gain more insight into these classes, we interviewed Adhi, Julia, and Marcy.

     Marcy is a certified wellness coach through the Mayo Clinic. She has been teaching the class for about three years. There are different groups of men each time, making it a varied experience for her—with the class being very engaged sometimes, and less so other times. Regardless, Marcy says that it is always an eye-opening experience for the men. As you can imagine, the class structure has changed significantly due to Covid-19. Prior to the pandemic, Marcy would go to the classroom with a portable burner and ingredients for the dish she was to cook that day. She provided cooking demos incorporating education and discussion, then a taste test. Since the pandemic, the class has moved online and is largely discussion-based. With the men, she discusses their eating habits, assesses their food-related knowledge, and facilitates conversations surrounding food. Marcy’s intent for the class is to have the attendees realize that vegan cooking does not have to be difficult and can taste great. She wants the men to feel confident and well-versed in their food choices. Other topics that Marcy likes to cover in class include basic nutrition, diet and disease, glycemic index, benefits of eating vegan, and more. Now, Marcy is cleared to start teaching some classes in-person again. For her current session, the first 6 classes will be virtual and the last 2 will be in-person where they will get to do cooking demos. On her overall takeaway from this experience, Marcy says, “I feel grateful for the opportunity to be able to meet and get to know these men.” She takes pride in being able to collaborate with and educate these men about food choices while empowering them.

     We also interviewed VRG intern Adhi (A Cornell nutrition student) on her experience teaching at Christopher Place. Adhi says that Marcy gives the interns freedom when allowing them to teach. For the first session Adhi got to choose her topic that she wanted to teach on, then she made a presentation and practiced it with Marcy. After each session, they continue to refine the presentations together. Adhi’s chosen topics were legumes, health benefits, and recipes. In total, Adhi will have taught five classes once the 8-week session is over. Adhi described her valuable experience learning from Marcy—she was able to observe classes, getting to see the tools that Marcy uses such as videos and interactive discussions. On her favorite aspect of teaching at Christopher Place, Adhi says that when she presents on new topics, she feels a sense of awe in the room as the men take in this information. Their excitement over her topics, especially the recipes, has excited her and she feels that she can see the men slowly become more open-minded and amenable to changes with food.

     VRG intern Julia has also had a positive experience thus far working with Christopher Place. She says she has come to feel comfortable and confident talking to the men and sharing her knowledge of food. Since January, she has taught four classes on the topic of vegan eating on a budget. Julia told us that working with Marcy has been valuable, as she is kind, communicative and helpful. We asked Julia if she had any advice for working in a capacity similar to Christopher Place and she recommended engaging participants by asking them questions and to keep the conversation casual, rather than rehearsed. Based on her experience, she said that the men have been talkative, fun, and that they ask great questions.

     For Marcy, Adhi, and Julia, teaching classes at Christopher Place has been a rewarding and engaging experience. From what we learned during the interviews, it seems that the men also benefit greatly from being able to attend these classes. Empowering others to make their own choices about food, while also expanding their knowledge and conceptions surrounding food, is crucial to keep people well-informed and excited. We are grateful that we were given the opportunity to gather more perspective on this unique aspect of VRG through interviews.

For more information about Vegetarian Resource Group internships, see

https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To support VRG internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

Or join VRG at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php