There’s more to lunch or dinner than chicken fingers or spaghetti, and the local Women, Infants and Children (WIC) office is demonstrating that monthly.

Cooking Classes for New Moms & More is the most recent project of Adagio Health, which administers the WIC program in Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Indiana and Lawrence counties.

WIC offices in each of the five counties have teaching kitchens where classes can be held.

Classes in the new program include Pregnant & Powerful, Nourishing Nutrition for New Moms and Baby Bites.

Other nutrition-based, hands-on food preparation classes — such as Kids in the Kitchen — also are held in the teaching kitchens at WIC offices, said Jane Eberhardt, WIC operations manager at Adagio Health.

“Maybe Mom brings the kids or grandma brings the kids,” she said of Kids in the Kitchen.

She said everyone has a hand in making the recipe for the monthly teaching kitchen program, and families eat or bring home what they make.

Zoe Ann Fuqua, Adagio Health’s nutrition education program supervisor at the Butler WIC office in Center Township, said monthly sessions in her teaching kitchen began in late fall last year.

She said chicken stir-fry, decorating cookies, infused water and healthy smoothies were among classes held at the Butler teaching kitchen since that time.

The September teaching kitchen recipe will be egg burritos, Fuqua said. All classes are free, and those who attend need not be WIC recipients.

“We are hoping (attendees) incorporate healthy eating in their families and have children participate with them in the kitchen at home,” Fuqua said.

She said the teaching kitchen even has safe and size-appropriate utensils for children so they can participate in all the recipes being taught at the WIC office.

She said three local families have attended ever teaching kitchen sessions held at the WIC office to learn all they can about feeding their young children healthy foods.

One family is a father and his two young daughters. The older daughter helps make the recipe being used, but her baby sister is too small to understand the concepts of cooking.

“She knows how to throw things on the floor, though,” Fuqua said with a chuckle.

Another family travels from Cranberry Township each month to attend the teaching kitchen session.

Fuqua said the families enjoy sharing ideas on how to tweak recipes toward their family’s preferences.

“And they like the interaction with other families,” she said.

She said currently, 1,238 clients receive WIC benefits.

In the WIC program, eligible clients receive infant formula, milk, cheeses, yogurt, cereals, canned beans, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs and peanut butter.

Fuqua said most receive a card from WIC they use to purchase those items at their local grocery store.

Most clients have their cards reloaded every three months, she said.

Eberhardt said recipes at all the Adagio WIC teaching kitchens are geared toward nutrition.

“The goal of Kids in the Kitchen is to promote health and cooking skills generationally and encourage healthy eating,” she said, “and to show different ways to use WIC foods.”

Marla Breitbarth, nutrition operations manager with Adagio Health, said Pregnant and Powerful and Infant Bites are held at the WIC offices in person, but Nourishing Nutrition for New Moms is held virtually to accommodate new mothers.

Each woman attending the New Moms class receives a gift card in the mail to purchase the items needed for the class.

“In addition to utilizing WIC benefits, it also provides them with some educational topics to use during the time frame of their maternal health needs,” Breitbarth said.

She said the three classes were created so that women could maintain nutritional health throughout their maternal journey.

Depending on the class, Adagio Health gives thank you gifts, like a water bottle to remind clients of the importance of hydration, or a mini blender to make homemade baby food, Breitbarth said.

The classes are open to all mothers, not just new mothers, she said.

“Every pregnancy and child is very different, so even if she has a family of four and is having another one, she can always learn something new,” Breitbarth said.

Eberhardt said Adagio Health offers pop-up markets in WIC offices during the harvest season, and each office has a food cupboard where those experiencing food insecurity can leave their WIC appointment with shelf-stable food.

Each appointment includes education and counseling on nutrition.

“The teaching kitchens are one way we can contribute further,” Eberhardt said.

Those interested in attending a class at the Adagio Health WIC office can log onto www.adagiohealth.org/teaching-kitchens and select “register now” for the class they are interested in, then select the Butler office.

More information and class schedules also are available at that web address.