One in three adults face food insecurity in San Diego County. My name is Susan Naslund, the Director of the Bethlehem Food Pantry, and every Saturday morning, we serve a variety of nutritious food to more than 250 families to help end food insecurity in our neighborhood. I have successfully built a fully equipped pantry, created a dignified, market-style shopping experience, and made partnerships to obtain food items not often offered at other pantries. In 2021, we earned the “Top Nutrition Pantry” Award from the San Diego Food Bank. Often our guests simply don’t know how to prepare the food we give them at our pantry. Recently, I offered a yellow summer squash to a young mom who said, “I have no idea what to do with that.” To help these families on their path to living in more healthful and self-sustainable ways, we are introducing the “Learn & Dine” program to provide nutrition counseling and lessons in food preparation. We will tap into the trust we have already established with the guests of the Bethlehem Food Pantry to empower them to try new foods. We will offer nutrition workshops incorporating the actual groceries distributed by the pantry, and we will dine together enjoying meal options created by students from a nearby culinary arts school. Will you join us at the table and partner with us as we launch this new program?