Teaching people about nutrition and herbal medicine has been a deep passion of mine for many years. As a clinical practitioner at Sage Integrative Health Center in Mt. Airy, I have the joy of working one-on-one with individuals and families to help them overcome health challenges using these powerful healing modalities. 

Last year, I was given the wonderful opportunity to present several free community-education classes and cooking demos through Moxie Tuesdays, a partnership between Food Moxie and Weavers Way. Moxie Tuesdays feature topics like cooking with beans, the benefits of roots, understanding gluten and grains, and identifying micronutrients in foods, and invite a lively discussion about nutrition and natural health with each session. 

One of Food Moxie's primary principles is nutrition education for youth and families, which also is a key component of my personal mission as a natural-health practitioner. With knowledge comes empowerment — to make healthier choices for our lives, to expand our horizons and to rise above cultural norms for the betterment of ourselves and our communities. 

We cannot expand and grow in a positive direction as a society without also testing our beliefs and challenging our preconceptions. Learning about nutrition, gardening and food security can help people break free from limiting paradigms and explore new, more nourishing ways of living. 

Organizations like Food Moxie are critical for helping uplift communities and engender a sense of ownership in their food choices. I'm looking forward to continued collaboration with Food Moxie to bring nutrition and food-security education to the forefront of community outreach and development.