Trauma and Nutrition Work Continues at Food Connects

Since she began working at Food Connects in the summer of 2018, Farm to School Coach Sheila Humphreys has been developing expertise on the rich topic of trauma and nutrition, including Trauma-Informed Cafeterias and Trauma Sensitive Farm to School programs. Sheila is a leader on this topic, presenting at statewide, regional, and national conferences and acting as a resource for educators and School Nutrition Professionals far and wide. 

Most recently, at the request of several Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) principals, Sheila partnered with Brattleboro Area Food Service Director Ali West of Fresh Picks Cafe to record a 30-minute professional development session on the topic of Trauma-Informed Cafeterias to help support WSESU staff welcome new students from Afghanistan into the school district. The video is relevant to schools that recently welcomed new Afghan students and all schools interested in making trauma-informed changes to their school meal programs.

This professional development is free and available to all. To learn more:

1. Click here to watch the video

2. Click here to view the recommended practices for school communities

3. Click here to view the resource document for more information

This video and supporting materials are based on a full-day training that Sheila Humphreys developed with Vermont-based trauma-informed specialist Joelle Van Lent in the summer of 2019.

In addition, last month, Sheila led her first in-person Trauma and Nutrition Training for educators since the start of the pandemic. She presented to approximately 20 staff members at Winston Prouty’s Early Learning Center. “It felt great to connect with educators in person, get a sense of how the material was landing with people in real-time, and see their whole faces!” says Sheila. And the training was well received by the staff.

“I thought the training was great,” said Katrin Morgan, Child Care Referral and Food Program Specialist at Winston Prouty. “I think that the material was presented thoughtfully. And I appreciated that you shared at the beginning that there could be topics that could be triggering to some people and gave permission to step away or whatever to take care of themselves if needed. I think that this field we are in attracts compassionate and passionate people, and the fact that some people were tearing up and crying and continued to stay in the training showed that you created a safe space for such a hard topic to present.”

Want to know more about these powerful trainings offered by Food Connects? Click here to dig deeper.

The “Dream Team”—Trauma and Nutrition from Home to Cafeteria

In December, Farm to School (FTS) coach Sheila Humphreys teamed up with two other passionate presenters for a workshop hosted by Massachusetts Farm to School to discuss the topic of trauma and nutrition from home to cafeteria. 

The workshop covered how food and trauma are intertwined. Food can establish a strong sense of community, but can also be a point of stress and anxiety. The aim of the workshop was to "increase participant awareness of implicit biases about food, clearly articulate the connection between trauma and food, and provide tools for coordinating Farm to School and nutrition programs in their school through a Trauma-Sensitive lens. You can learn more about the workshop and watch it online.

This workshop wasn’t Sheila’s first rodeo—she has led or participated in other workshops on this topic that have been entirely school and cafeteria-focused. What was exciting and different about this discussion was that co-presenter Tracy Roth joined Sheila. Tracy is a certified nutrition coach based in Amherst, MA, who explored this rich topic through the lens of how families and individuals can address these issues at home. Tracy “is on a mission to end the diet industry because those quick-fix restrictive diets just make us feel bad about ourselves and mess with our relationship with food.” She shared her personal experience growing up with food insecurity and her work as an adult to heal her relationship with food and her body. She also provided practical suggestions to help shift our relationship to food, like mindful eating techniques, increasing food literacy, and honoring joy, culture, and connection through food. 

Diona Williams also joined the team. Diona is an early childhood education professor at the Tribal Community College on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Sells, AZ. Diona shared her personal experience as the adoptive mother of a child who previously experienced food insecurity. She discussed food hoarding and other challenging behaviors sometimes seen in children who have experienced food insecurity and how to approach these behaviors with compassion and understanding. Diona is passionate about early childhood mental health and shared inspiration from her many years of experience as an educator using the school garden as an outdoor classroom for special education preschoolers. 

Sheila knows the power and importance of weaving her own experience with food insecurity into her work. This opportunity to engage in a panel discussion with these two outstanding professionals who were willing to share their personal experiences as well as their professional expertise was a dream come true! They met several times before the presentation to prepare. They all felt a powerful synergy working together by the end of their presentation. They agree that they are a “dream team” and want to find more speaking opportunities together to move these essential conversations forward. If not for the virtual world we’re all living in now due to COVID-19, these three amazing women may never have had the opportunity to meet and collaborate, so that’s something to be grateful for!