Nutrition educator helps Milwaukee families on SNAP make healthy and affordable decisions

Last month, Bridgett Wilder, founder of Perseverance Health & Wellness Coaching, partnered with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to offer free nutrition education to families. Though that series of workshops, called Wellness Within Reach, ended, her work to help families on SNAP or in food deserts continues.

“The main purpose is to focus on helping people make better food choices with their budget and allocating their SNAP-Ed funding in a way that’s manageable for them,” Wilder said.

SNAP-Ed is a federal program that helps people with low incomes learn how to eat healthy on a budget.

Wilder said her workshops focused on topics like diabetes, childhood obesity, learning how to read nutrition labels, emotional eating, food deserts and more because families on Snap-Ed typically face these health challenges.

According to the Milwaukee Health Department, residents in neighborhoods with high food insecurity experience twice the prevalence of diabetes and 20% higher obesity rates than areas that have low food insecurity.

Matt Stienstra, director of advocacy and community engagement at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, said his organization is excited to work with Wilder.

“Bridgett is making sure that community members who are stretching to put food on the table, know how to do that in a way that their family can stay fed but can also get the nutrients they need,” Stienstra said. “We’re just happy to be in a position to be able to help support.”

At the workshops, attendees received a workbook created by Wilder that teaches mindful eating strategies like how to follow the food pyramid, finding alternative comfort foods and more.

“When I wrote the workbook, I made sure that the information I put in was scientific evidence-based facts,” she said.

Taking different approaches and building trust

Wilder’s main priority is to teach nutrition in a way that doesn’t make people feel ashamed or judged about what they eat or can’t afford.

Her lived experiences, including becoming a widow at 36, causing her to raise nine children on her own while being on SNAP, having diabetes and losing a child and mother to cancer, shapes how she teaches.

“My resources were dwindling, and at the time I didn’t even know what to do,” Wilder said. “All of these things happened because of the lack of information that we had about nutrition at that time.”

Wilder’s son Aaron, the freelance marketing and publicity manager of Perseverance Health & Wellness Coaching, said that for as long as his mom continues her work, families will certainly have access to nutrition education.

“Access to nutrition education should never be gatekept,” Aaron Wilder said. “We grew up on SNAP, and with the restrictions on what you can and can’t buy, it can feel like healthy food is out of reach.”

Bridgett Wilder said her goal is to create a space that’s open for all and not being pretentious.

“My main approach is to gain trust so I can hear their stories,” she said.

Wilder also makes sure to have candid conversations with people about the things they like to eat, what they may struggle with and other questions so she can present them with alternative options that are enjoyable.

“I have them try it and it opens up a dialogue,” she said “People kind of don’t care how much you know until you show them how much you care.”

Throughout Wilder’s workbook, she intentionally uses word choices that don’t invite judgement.

“Instead of saying ‘disease prevention,’ I say ‘reducing your risk,’” Bridgett said. “I also don’t use the terms ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’”

‘Every person has the right to wellness’

Wilder said she’s happy to see the reactions on residents’ faces when they find out how food impacts their bodies.

“They always want to know more,” she said.

Stienstra hopes that the information Wilder shares can help get families more prepared with using SNAP. Examples include knowing where to get healthy foods from places like the Fondy Farmers Market, using the Milwaukee Market Match to double their SNAP benefits, or even having the confidence to enroll or re-enroll in SNAP.

“I’ve talked with residents, and I know more than one that has disenrolled from SNAP and it’s not because they don’t need it but because they’re afraid of completing the reapplication,” Stienstra said.

Wilder said she’s intentional when searching for places to teach nutrition education and connect with resources because it gives the community free services.

“I believe that every person has the right to wellness,” Aaron Wilder said. “I think that comes from the pains I discussed, that actually turned into my purpose, so I never turn down an opportunity to use purpose.”

Aaron Wilder said watching his mom single-handedly rebuild her life after his father’s passing has been inspiring and impacted some of his health decisions and his journey on becoming a personal trainer.

“Part of that journey included her own fitness journey, losing over 100 pounds, earning her degree from Mount Mary University and then building her business,” Aaron Wilder said about his mother.

Overall, Aaron Wilder said it’s been an incredible thing to witness his mom show genuine passion for helping others reach their goals.

“She’s shown that anything you want, you simply have to go get it no matter how long it feels, but with God on your side nothing can stand against you,” Aaron Wilder said.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.