When Monica Davis began volunteering at Loaves & Fishes as a Client Guide in 2014, she noticed that pantry visitors often wouldn’t take certain types of produce. Seeing an opportunity to educate visitors about how to prepare new-to-them foods and possibly eat a healthier diet, she approached then-Executive Director Margaret Burruss. She asked if she could offer food samples and recipes during distributions to help visitors try unusual foods such as avocado, mango, and cauliflower.

Monica’s food demonstrations in the pantry waiting room got visitors to try some of the foods being distributed that day. They set the stage for Loaves & Fishes’ nutrition education program today. While we still offer food samples and recipes during distributions, they are often combined with a “farmer’s market” where pantry visitors try samples and pick out additional food only available in small quantities, slightly damaged, or preferred by specific cultures. Instead of giving everyone avocados, mangos, or cauliflower, we let visitors who know how to prepare and eat specific foods pick those out at the market.

Our nutrition education program includes a regular Nutrition-to-Go newsletter, in English and Spanish, that highlights some of the food we are giving out and ways to prepare and store it; cooking classes in an on-site kitchen for individuals wanting to learn how to prepare simple, nutritious meals; and online videos they can watch at home.

A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Monica has cooked since she was a small child and wants to “take the fear out of cooking! It’s quite easy to make healthy and delicious food. People see all the beautiful food on TV or online and get scared and think they can’t do it—but we can give them the tools and knowledge so they can!” Monica is also a big fan of cooking as a family so everyone feels pride when they sit down together to enjoy a meal.

Since joining Loaves & Fishes’ staff during the COVID pandemic, when Loaves & Fishes needed to reduce the number of volunteers and the possibility of spreading the virus, Monica raised the bar on the quantity and quality of food the pantry gives each household. Loaves & Fishes focuses on sourcing nutritionally dense food, including milk, eggs, meat, fish, and other alternate proteins, and lots of fresh produce so we can provide a week’s worth of food for everyone who visits. She’s developed partnerships with other local organizations that donate and/or receive food or other services from the pantry, including the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), Piedmont Housing Alliance, the Emergency Food Network, local Eagle Scouts, who’ve built raised beds to grow and offer fresh herbs for visitors, and UVa Dining. Our collaboration with VCE  has led to grants to purchase plants, seeds, and pots so pantry visitors can learn to grow their own food, and we encourage local farmers and backyard gardeners to donate excess produce so those unable to buy it at the store have access to fresh, healthy food.

Monica believes that “Many clouds have silver linings—that’s true at Loaves & Fishes. Our visitors are getting—and trying—more varied types of produce now.” With her nutrition education program, they are more likely to try and enjoy new foods, which we hope will help maintain or improve their health. Some pantry visitors have told us they no longer require surgery, have lost weight, and are able to save their money for other living expenses because they can get healthy food for free at Loaves & Fishes.