Arkansas State University Mid-South has partnered with EastArk Enterprises and Pathfinder, Inc. to develop and provide training opportunities for their clients in the hospitality industry. With the goal of helping the clients gain independence and learn entry level employment skills, ASU Mid-South, EastArk and Pathfinder worked together to develop a curriculum that will support clients with disabilities. The first of three courses, Nutrition and Menu Planning, was held for seven weeks in July and August.The Nutrition and Menu planning classes taught participants the importance of good nutrition, nutrition terminology, digestion and how to plan and prepare healthy meals. Students learned helpful information about how the diet affects nutrition-diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They gained valuable speaking and presentation experience by working to chart the digestive system and delivering a presentation on their work. They also learned about foods from around the world and prepared meals from other countries as part of the curriculum. As an added bonus, some of the fresh vegetables they used to prepare their daily assignments, came from the garden they help maintain through EastArk Enterprises.
