Bang for your buck: learn the basics of smart shopping at a Senior Support Series event this Wednesday

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Independent Healthcare Broker Kevin Dorr of Mapping Medicare and the Marquette Regional History Center have teamed up to provide free, quarterly events for seniors spanning various educational and social topics.

The next event in the Senior Support Series lineup is Smart Shopping with the Marquette Food Co-op. Attendees can learn about healthy grocery shopping and how to get the most bang for their buck at checkout.

Though the event is happening at the Marquette Regional History Center this Wednesday, Upper Michigan Today is live at the co-op on Monday to learn more about its offerings and for a healthy cooking demo.

Elizabeth Peterson and Tia Trudgeon start the show with Kevin Dorr and Matt Gougeon, the general manager for the Marquette Food Co-op, to talk about this collaboration.

Gougeon goes on to explain the model of the co-op, which is owned by nearly 6,000 members of the Marquette community.

In addition to a full-service grocery store with produce, deli, bulk food, and a hot bar, the Marquette Food Co-op offers cooking and other educational classes.

Sarah Monte joins the conversation to talk about this addition to the co-op’s services.

Elizabeth and Tia head downstairs into the cooking classroom, where Registered Dietician Amanda Latvala shows you how to make a Syrian potato salad.

She says this recipe is great for a summer potluck because it has no mayo or dairy ingredients and is great cold and leftover.

For six servings, the recipe calls for:

8-12 baby red potatoes

1 small red onion

1 bunch parsley

10-12 mint leaves

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 c olive oil

sea salt and black pepper, to taste.

Monte says the Marquette Food Co-op’s goal is to make food education and healthy eating accessible to as many people as possible.

The store offers community cooking classes, private cooking classes, and grant-funded classes with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The Marquette Food Co-op recently partnered with Feeding America West Michigan and the Center for Rural Health to offer food samples and healthy recipes at food distribution events.

Upper Michigan Today heads back upstairs to check out its offering of locally-grown produce.

Bridge card-holders can receive Double Up Food Bucks when shopping for fruits and veggies, which gives shoppers $1 for every $1 they spend on produce, to also spend on produce, up to $20 a day.

The crew heads back into the classroom for another cooking demo.

Latvala shows you how to make a cabbage slaw with cilantro dressing.

To get the most use out of your veggies, Latvala says to not peel!

The recipe calls for

1 head red cabbage

carrots

green onion

cilantro

a neutral oil (canola, sunflower, etc.)

lime juice

cumin

coriander

and garlic.

The Senior Support Series: Smart Shopping event is happening on Wednesday, June 5 at 1:30 p.m. at the Marquette Regional History Center.

Monte and Latvala will be present with more information and education about healthy eating and shopping at the Marquette Food Co-op, plus, Latvala will provide healthy snacks for attendees!

Four $25 co-op gift cards will be given out as door prizes, along with a Marquette Regional History Center membership.

You can learn more about the Marquette Food Co-op and its class offerings at marquettefood.coop.

You can watch Upper Michigan Today on weekdays at 9:00 a.m. on FOX UP or stream the show on your smart device with the TV6+ app.

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