A group of nursing students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is tackling food insecurity from the kitchen. The students have assembled dozens of healthy recipes into a Nursing Cookbook meant to help shelter volunteers prepare meals quickly and easily, even if they have no culinary experience.
The project was done in partnership with Stepping Stones of Dunn County, an organization that serves people in need in the Menomonie area. The cookbook is intended as a jumpstart for volunteers who cook in shelter settings.
The book came out of a clinical class designed to show nursing students the impact they can have outside a hospital. Assistant professor of nursing Rachel Zimmer said the clinical is meant to show students other options for giving back to communities if bedside nursing is not where they find their passion.
The recipes were not written as generic healthy meals. Students tailored dishes for people dealing with specific dietary needs, including kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension, conditions that can make shelter meals harder to plan.
Organizers have not detailed in the initial report how many copies will be printed or exactly which shelters will receive the book first.
