Cooking class at Lutheran Settlement House in Fishtown helping seniors eat healthier
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for AgingIf you're still looking for ways to tune up your health and eat better in the New Year, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging sponsors a cooking class for older adults in Fishtown that offers plant-based recipes.Every Monday, Lynn McCullough teaches the cooking class at Lutheran Settlement House. McCullough is a Nutrition Educator with the Netter Center at the University of Pennsylvania.She says the purpose of the class is "to teach people about healthy eating."The activity is part of a community partnership Lutheran Settlement House has with the Netter Center at Penn and it's sponsored by Philadelphia Corporation for Aging."The cooking class is to help people change how they eat in terms of reducing salt, reducing sugar," says Connie Lewis-Watson, Community Engagement Program Manager at Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. Lewis-Watson says it's helpful "to improve health."It's a lesson in nutrition.McCullough says she encourages "adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet.""The nutrition aspect is important for seniors," says Lewis-Watson. "The better you eat, the healthier you are, the longer you live and the more independent you remain."They learn to prepare meat-free, plant-based recipes. On the menu for this class is Lemony Pasta with Peas and White Beans."Our members, they get to participate. They chop up the vegetables," says Brooke Glickman, Activities Coordinator at Lutheran Settlement House in Fishtown.Ingredients for the recipe include lemons, onions, garlic, parmesan cheese and frozen peas, along with whole-wheat pasta."The different foods that she puts in everything is so interesting. She does combining that I wouldn't have thought of," says Sally Piazza, a cooking class participant and member of Lutheran Settlement House.McCullough shares the weekly recipes so older adults can make the meals at home."A lot of seniors get boxes of things from a food pantry, and they don't always know how to use it. And we try to take some of the mystery out of cooking, you know? Vegetables are ingredients that they're receiving," says McCullough."I love it," says Paulette Watson, another cooking class participant and member of Lutheran Settlement House. "We learn a variety of cooking methods."She says she's also learned "how to eat healthier," because all of McCullough's recipes are vegetarian.And they make enough to share, bringing samples out for center members to enjoy.Taste testers agreed their cooking was "very good.""It's always good when somebody enjoys your cooking," says Watson.But the biggest takeaway McCullough hopes to instill is that "it's easy to cook for yourself.""And it's a lot quicker than ordering takeout, and more cost effective, that's for sure," she says.Philadelphia Corporation for Aging helps fund 28 senior centers around the city and nutrition classes like this one at Lutheran Settlement House supports the agency's mission to help older adults live independently and with a good quality of life. If you would like to find a senior center in your neighborhood, call the PCA Helpline at 215-765-9040 or look online at PCACares.org.For more information:Lutheran Settlement House Cooking ClassNetter Center for Community Partnership at University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia Corporation for AgingLutheran Settlement House1340 Frankford AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19125Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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