Appalachia is known for its beautiful landscapes of rolling hills and rich family heritage. It is also known for its poverty-stricken communities, lack of adequate educational opportunities, violence and addiction. Berea College and its community partners have worked tirelessly to overcome this stigma. Offering life advancing opportunities to Appalachians and Kentuckians alike, New Opportunity School is one of these community partners.

The mission of the New Opportunity School for Women in Berea, Kentucky is “to provide under-resourced Appalachian and Kentucky women with tools to help them grow in self-knowledge, build confidence, and access resources to improve their financial, educational and personal circumstances.” The school offers a two-week residential program, or a convenient online program, to fit the needs of women who are in search of finding a hopeful future for themselves and their families. This program offers business classes of all sorts, financial planning, career planning and assistance as well as a host of life skills classes to not only promote career advancement but also secure stability of family life. It was brought to the attention of the program director that these ladies lacked knowledge of meal planning and preparation. She contacted the Madison County Cooperative Extension Office asking for assistance in these areas.

After a needs assessment and planning meeting, The Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant Senior joined the arsenal to provide nutrition classes. Thirteen women, five with young children, participated in two, four-hour sessions. The ladies were given lessons in safe food handling, basic food preparation, healthy meal planning (including food groups and drink choices), food budgeting, and label reading. During each session, the participants were provided two recipes with ingredients, they were divided into two groups to prepare each recipe for group sampling during their lunch time. By sampling in a group setting, it promoted healthier meal choices and encouraged the ones with limited pallets to try a new food. This was such a success that the facilities’ educators and staff chose to join the ladies for lunch and taste as well. Each lady would share tips and tricks for easier meal preparation, storage for future use, or ways to make family recipes healthier at the end of each session. One participant, who lives in Madison County, was so impressed with Extension, she enrolled all three of her children in the 4-H program and sent them to 4-H Camp! She plans to join Madison Homemakers when she has completed her training at New Opportunity School.