After my last post, my life jumped into a whirlwind of excitement that had me flying across the country, meeting medical and nutritional idols and being away from my family for FIVE days!
So do you remember back in March, I posted about the fact that I was headed to Washington D.C. to attend the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine’s (PCRM) Food for Life Certification program?
Well folks, it’s official!! I am a Certified Food for Life Instructor!!! 
The Tuesday after I finished Canyons, I hopped on a plane and flew to D.C. for my training. The plane ride left me with time to sit and recap the race in my head with the intentions of blogging while I was there. It happened, eventually (read my race report here).
Most of my time in D.C. however was spent soaking up SO MUCH information and meeting 25 of the loveliest attendees ever. Over 90 people had applied and 26 were selected. We had someone from Ireland and someone from China! It was amazing and to sit in a room with that many like-mined, empowered and energized people was unbelievable. Everyone was eager to learn and our instructors were hands-down some of the most intelligent and kindhearted people on Earth.
Every morning, I would leave my hotel and walk the .4 of a mile to PCRM and the Barnard Medical Center. The weather was gorgeous and the walk was easy. Each morning they provided us with a plant-based breakfast! It was delicious.
PCRM is the only nonprofit organization in the country that provides nutrition and cooking classes that focus on disease prevention and survival. It is 100% evidence based. It was founded in 1985 by Dr. Neal Barnard and has been growing and educating ever since.
Dr. Barnard spoke on our very first day. He truly has a heart of gold and a passion for animal rights and health.
In addition to his talk, we had some lectures on administrative stuff, a full-on cooking demonstration and a panel discussion where we were free to ask four PCRM dietitians anything we wanted! The last class of the first day however, was one of my most favorite!
The last class was called, Teaching for Understanding: What to say and how to say it so that your students truly learn. It was phenomenal! By full admission, I am a terrible public speaker so I am always looking for ways to improve. This class gave us plenty to think about and techniques to implement when we are conducting classes. I loved it.
The second day started even earlier than the first and once again, a full breakfast was provided.
The second day of the training consisted of an introduction into the many different classes we will be allowed to teach.
There is a curriculum for Cancer (Food for Life: Cancer Project – Acquire knowledge about the link between diet and cancer) and one for Diabetes (Food for Life: Diabetes Initiative – Learn more about the benefits of a plant-based nutrition approach for diabetes and prevention) in addition to so many more!
You get the idea … the possibilities and topics to teach are plentiful and best of all life saving.
We also had to perform our very own cooking demonstration in front of the group and our instructors. Afterwards, we were critiqued and given ways to improve or enhance our class.
Not going to lie, that was a little nerve wracking but I think it was imperative to give us a sense of what we will be doing when we return home.
The group at PCRM thought of everything. They answered our questions and they helped us navigate the endless opportunities we might be able to find using our new found skills and tools.
PCRM gets nothing in return mind you. Their only hope is that we, as Food for Life instructors go forth and teach! The more people we can reach across the world, the better.
With over one million people being diagnosed with cancer and 25 million people being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in the United States each year – The Food for Life program is an innovative approach to a medical challenge.
So what is my plan? What is my agenda now that I am a Food for Life Instructor? Well for starters, I still have to study all the books, curriculum and information we received while at the training. I do have some ideas rolling around in my head though. I think to start, I’ll do a pilot program with a small group just so that I can get my “feet wet” and my materials ready.
Regardless, the fire has been lit and I am eager to get teaching! There is so much power behind food. There is no denying that it directly correlates to our health and well being. I think everyone knows and understands this but I also think, they could use a friend … a helping hand … a TEACHER to help them traverse what may seem like a difficult road ahead. I hope to be that person.
Happy Trails!
~Trailmomma
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This could be the greatest answer to our health care problems in this country and you are the best representative to teach all of those you come in contact with!!
Awe, thanks Debbie! It is a pretty amazing program!
I’m so envious ☺. I have just completed the Forks Over Knives course and would like to add this course to do teaching. However living in England UK the cost is well beyond my means. All the best for the future, Alison
Thanks Alison! There are many other courses out there that you can choose from … while I love PCRM, I believe there are many other programs out there that are equally as effective as the Food for Life program and cheaper to obtain certifications for.
Can you name some of these programs? My son is a nutritionist and is looking for cooking classes for various chronic diseases. Thanks
Cooking as in cooking demos classes?
Then I would recommend Rouxbe’s online plant-based cooking classes or Fork Over Knives has an online cooking class. He doesn’t need to take cooking class however to teach people especially if he’s a nutritionist. It’s just a matter of doing it and showing people how to do it. PCRM/Food for Life is great but you only have to know how to read a recipe and perform that in front of people … that’s it, there was no specific cooking training. Rouxbe will teach you knife skills, presentation skills and various fancy plant-based dishes. It’s a long and intensive program but very good. https://rouxbe.com/plant-based-certification-course/
Thank you so much. I will pass on the info to him.
Blessings,
Chantal
I am taking the Rouxbe plant based 3-month course now and I love it. About mid way through now and just finished dry saute, blanching and par boiling tasks. I organize a monthly plant based pot luck in Orono, Maine and started Plant Based Bangor, ME facebook group 2 days after I changed my diet from SAD to Plant Based in Feb. 2015.
Hi Chantal, Ive just completed the Rouxbe Forks Over Knives course for home cooks. This was excellent value. I felt valued as an individual through the feedback given by the chefs on my assignments. The course challenging enough for me and gave me plenty of encouagement and ideas for further WFPB cooking. There is also a professional course at Rouxbe but I’m not looking to cook as a profession. I highly recommend this for your son.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.
Best,
Chantal
Allison,
Consider Dr Pam Popper @ Wellness Forum Health Institute
located in Columbus Ohio. She has all online courses that you can purchase incrementally! I have learned so much! As an added bonus she gives you access to her on line library and monthly book reviews if your able to purchase the membership each year!!
I think you may be thrilled with it!
Best of luck in our journey to improve others health and hope!
Terry Hubel
I agree Pam’s program is great, expensive but great. PCRM is also expensive and more designed for teaching people how to cook and choose ingredients. Both are a little different in design and purpose but spectacular.
How long are the programs to become an instructors. I live in the Bahamas
Chantel, you go to Washington DC for a few days to become certified. You have to take courses and do a cooking demo in front of a group to get approval. It is actually quite costly in my opinion.
Are the courses offered on line?
No, they are not.
I’m interested in doing PCRM Food for Life, too. I completed the eCornell Plant Based certification. Have you started teaching classes? I might like to connect with you on Facebook — I think we live near one another.
Hi Karen,
I have taught classes mainly at my place of employment, not to general public. You can reach me via Facebook or email me at trailmomma@trailmomma.com if you have questions.
The Food For Life information says it is like a franchise program for people to take and give classes. If it like a franchise model, do you then need to use all of the FFL material and do you/can you charge people to attend the classes? Do they offer information on how much to charge? Is what people pay taxed? Curious how that all works. If you invest your time and money to become FFL certified, how do you guard against coming off like you are offering medical advise?
For the first year of your certification you do need to follow the FFL guidelines and protocol. You don’t HAVE to use their forms but they strongly encourage it and since you cannot deviate from the menu, it makes sense to use their forms anyway. They do give suggestions or advice on what to charge or rather they share with you what OTHER coaches do. You are in communication with coaches from around the world and they are the ones who tend to provide advice on those kinds of things. You guard yourself by having a waiver that people sign upon attending your class that states you are not a doctor and you are not allowed to answer medical questions. The format of the class is they watch a video with Dr. Barnard and then you do a cooking demo for them. That’s it basically. You get out how much you put into it. I don’t teach classes to the public, I did it for my employer for a bit so I didn’t make any money – it is very hard to make solid money unless you live in an area where you can have classes repeatedly.
Amazing! I may have missed it, but how much did this cost?
Here is a link to the PCRM Food for Life training page: https://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/ffl/training