Berkshire Hills Church Shows Community How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Chef Jurea Dawson, center, engages the audience with a teaching segment before she demonstrates the recipes.

On Sunday, October 27, 2024, the Berkshire Hills SDA Church in Lanesborough, Massachusetts, hosted a vegan cooking class with the theme "Eating Healthy on a Budget." Chef Jurea Dawson and her team treated more than seven community guests to a hands-on learning experience while demonstrating four nutritious alternatives to everyday favorites, including waffles and soups.

Attendees enjoyed a welcoming atmosphere as they watched Chef Jurea prepare surprisingly simple recipes, had the opportunity to help with the preparations, tasted the delicious outcomes, and received free giveaways. They discovered that healthy eating is attainable even on a budget. This event demonstrated that a balanced, plant-based diet can be both affordable and delicious, while also introducing guests to the beauty of the Adventist health message.

Jurea Dawson is a plant-based chef with over 30 years of experience in the art of creating natural "real" foods. She has catered special events, worked as a private home chef, and authored two plant-based cookbooks, Real Food Recipes and More Real Food Recipes. She resides in Windsor, Massachusetts.