Visit our YouTube channel to learn more about the Community Teaching Kitchen and what we do, how to make beautiful, nutritious and delicious recipes.

• Oregon Food Bank-Food Pantries
• 211 Information for Local Resources
• Food Stamps & Cash Assistance
• Women Infants & Children (WIC)
• Wichita Center
• Farmers Markets using SNAP match
• Cooking Matters

• American Diabetes Association
• American Heart Association
• USDA My Plate
• American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

• Providence Basecamp
• OSU Extension Services
• Oregon Food Bank
• Teaching Kitchen Events

• Download a referral form

• Feeding America
• Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon

Providence Milwaukie Hospital supports good health through good food. That’s why we offer services to help you get the nutrition your body needs. Our Community Teaching Kitchen helps you put a healthy meal on your table. And our nutrition experts can assist with creating personalized goals for improving your health.

We work to create a healthier community through one-on-one and small group outpatient nutrition counseling, regular screening for food insecurity, and access to a navigator for individualized resources. Our Family Market provides a wide variety of dry, fresh and frozen foods to help families who are facing hunger. We offer hands-on cooking classes led by instructors and trained volunteers. The Community Teaching Kitchen meets the needs of our patients and community by providing food and nutrition education in a supportive and non-judgmental environment.

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
-UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2001

An increasing number of health care practitioners across the country are focusing on the connection between food insecurity and health and utilizing their daily practice to address hunger. To address our local need, Providence Health & Services, in conjunction with its community partners, have implemented a program designed to powerfully enlist both the health care and social service community in the fight against hunger. Providence Milwaukie’s Community Teaching Kitchen was built on the successful implementation of the Screen & Intervene Model and receives referrals from providers who have screened patients for food insecurity and conducts ongoing screening for everyone that comes in the door. Families in need of resources are able to access onsite resources including in-person navigation and our Family Market.

Patients and community members learn essential preparation and cooking skills as well as evidence-based nutrition information. We help you prepare affordable meals that are nutritious and delicious. We also have classes in gardening, preserving foods, stretching resources, cooking for health conditions and more. Classes are offered in English and Spanish and led by Providence experts and community partners, including the Oregon Food Bank and OSU Extension Services. 

Our registered dietitians can help you with a variety of dietary and health needs, such as weight management, lowering your risk of disease, and eating wisely for your individual lifestyle. Services are offered in one-on-one and small group settings. Interpreter services are available to meet all language needs.

Our Patient Navigators are compassionate guides who understand the needs of our community population. Upon completion of intake with the Patient Navigator, patients will receive resources tailored to their needs and unique situations.

Our Family Market is an onsite resource that is intended to provide reliable access to healthy food for those who face food insecurity. We offer two-to-three days’ worth of supplemental food for patients and their families. Facilitated by trained staff and volunteers, patients shop for food that best meets their everyday life and nutritional needs.

Providence Milwaukie Hospital supports good health through good food. That’s why we offer services to help get the nutrition the body needs. Our community teaching kitchen helps put a healthy meal on the table. And our nutrition experts can create personalized plans for improving health issues.

Our community classes help prepare affordable meals that are nutritious and delicious. We also offer classes in preserving goods, stretching resources, cooking for health conditions and more. Classes are led by Providence experts and community partners, including the Oregon Food Bank and OSU Extension Services. Volunteers assist with shopping for each class, set-up and clean-up and assisting our participants with food preparation.

Our food insecurity screening program helps people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from or who run out of food and can’t afford to buy more. To relieve this food insecurity, we provide resources to help get reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. Volunteers support our Patient Navigator by developing and maintaining accurate resource lists and materials for our patients.

Our family market provides up to three days’ worth of emergency food supplies for families facing hunger. At our free on-site market, patients select from nutritious, packaged fresh and frozen foods that best meet their needs. Volunteers collect community partner donations, monitor and maintain inventory, portion and package food for storage and walk patients through the market for their provisions.

You may submit an online application or you may contact Providence Milwaukie Hospital Volunteer Office at 503-650-1455 to request more information and a volunteer application.