On November 16th, ChesMRC welcomed over 40 adults and 75 children to the 3rd annual Thankful to Wellness event. Thanks to the Healthy Habits grant funded by Talbot Family Network, ChesMRC was able to provide healthy food and fun educational activities for all that attended.

Set up as a huge Thanksgiving spread, the meal featured roasted chicken, spinach and tomato salad, rice, black beans and pasta salad. For a healthy dessert, participants could indulge in a fresh yogurt parfait with Greek vanilla yogurt, blueberries and granola.

Thanks to University of MD Extension, participants got to learn about “Market to Mealtime” which featured recipe cards, handouts and myplates alongside seasonal displays to introduce the adults on trying new produce. Sharon Morrison (UMDE’s presenter) also provided a food tasting station featuring  sweet potato and carrot soup, baked acorn squash with apples and a spaghetti squash with Parmesan cheese.

Attendees also received information on health insurance and medicaid enrollments, cigarette restitution and free children books.

The overall night was a great success in a casual and family oriented atmosphere. Most attendees were from the ChesMRC afterschool program and it gave families a chance to relax and meet each other.