Whole Living Community Center offering healthy cooking classes
Origami is just one of the crafting classes offered by Jill Purdy at the Whole Living Community Center on Nucleus Ave. (Jeremy Weber photo)
The Whole Living Community Center is funded entirely by donations and sales from their used items and gift shop items, like this ornament. (Jeremy Weber photo)
The Whole Living Community Center is funded entirely by donations and sales from their used items and gift shop items. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Residents of Columbia Falls have a new place to learn about healthy living and vegetarian cooking techniques.
The Whole Living Community Center, located on the lower level of the Flathead Family Footcare building on Nucleus Ave., offers cooking classes, new and used vintage items, a Christian gift shop, a resource library and more.
Since opening at the beginning of December, the center has hosted two cooking classes – “Plant based holiday ideas” and “Where to vegetarians get their protein” – as well as an origami class for beginners. The classes are taught by Columbia Falls resident Jill Purdy, who has been hosting vegetarian cooking classes at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in town for the past five years.
“We thought it might be a little easier for the community to get involved in our classes if they weren’t being held at a church,” Purdy said about opening the center. “What we offer might not be for everyone in the community, but for those who are interested, this is a good place to come and learn. We are hoping that people will start to show up on a semi-regular basis just to see what’s new and to realize that we have some very interesting classes available.”
The owner of the building, Dr. Robert Clase, agreed to a four-month trial period for the project, which will expire at the end of January. Purdy says she and the others involved in creating the center hope that more people will attend the classes in the coming month.
“We had about 50 people at our grand opening, but other than that, nobody has really found us yet. We just need to be found by the people in the area,” Purdy said.
Purdy says the hope is that the center will teach area residents that the problems that arise from eating processed food can be avoided and that eating right doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
“We want people in our community to know that they do not have to suffer from the diseases that come from eating the typical American diet. We don’t have to have diabetes, hypertension or suffer from obesity. These are lifestyle problems. People should know that the right diet can taste good and be inexpensive,” she said. “I think the trouble really started with the industrial revolution, when we started having pre-packaged food. My grandmother lived to be 104, and she was by no means a vegetarian. In fact, every day for 30 years she made a double-layer chocolate cake. There were three girls and two adults and they could eat a chocolate cake every day. She lived that long because it was whole food. She didn’t use anything that was processed.”
A vegetarian her entire life, Purdy says things have gotten easier for vegetarians in the past few years.
“We are making progress. When I was a girl, there were no stores or restaurants that offered vegetarian choices. Today, most places offer that choice,” she said.
To fund the available classes, the Whole Living Community Center offers a vintage and used shop with a variety of unique items that have all been donated. The center also offers a Christian gift shop, with a good selection of books, decorations and even a few Christmas tree ornaments. The shops are open Wednesdays from 12-6 p.m.
In addition, the center has also been assembling disaster kits for area residents in case of emergencies.
In January, the center will offer a class focusing on the whole food lifestyle and diabetes on Jan. 14 from 1-3 p.m. On Jan. 29, the center will offer “Dinner with a Doctor,” featuring Dr. Clase, from 5-7 p.m. The event will feature dinner, live music and a question and answer period.
All classes and events are free to the public.