$20,000 Grant Will Support Health Initiatives at Erie House

Erie House received a $20,000 grant from Red Nose Day/Comic Relief Fund of The Chicago Community Foundation to support its Health and Leadership Program.

The Erie House program has been successful in delivering nutrition education and supporting overall well-being for children, youth and adults; the grant promises to help the agency expand and strengthen those efforts.

“Nutrition education is important because we want to build healthy habits and an appreciation for fruits and vegetables from a very young age,” said Micaella Verro, who is director of the Health and Leadership Program.

“When we teach 3-year-olds how to identify different healthy foods, or 8-year-olds how to use knives safely, or 13-year-olds how to read recipes and nutritional labels, then they all have the tools and knowledge they need to live a healthy life as they grow up,” she added.

“Nutrition education is important because we want to build healthy habits and an appreciation for fruits and vegetables from a very young age.”

– Micaella Verro, Director of Health and Leadership

The program’s “Super H” nutrition education initiatives are tailored to specific age groups and offered to close to 500 students ages 2 through 18; an additional 500 adults participated in cooking workshops and informational sessions through its Comprando Rico y Sano initiative last year to help support nutrition at home.

Verro stressed that the community Erie House serves is all too often disproportionately impacted by diabetes, heart disease and obesity. “Nutrition education is key to preventing those diseases before they start,” she said.

“We’re grateful for this grant support from Red Nose Day/Comic Relief Fund of The Chicago Community Foundation,” said executive director Kirstin Chernawsky. “We want to keep creating greater access to well-being in our community, and supporting folks with the knowledge and resources they need to eat healthy, wholesome and affordable foods moves us closer to that goal.”

For more information on the Health and Leadership Program at Erie House, please visit www.eriehouse.org/health.