Leah’s Pantry is reframing conversations about healthy diets and food security. We want to create spaces where providers and community members can talk about how nutrition education and hunger relief can work towards trauma-informed nutrition security. This means that people should not only have access to healthy food, but that they receive and learn about it in a way that:
- Recognizes how stress and adversity affect human health and behavior
- Avoids shaming, stigma, and blame
- Promotes resilience
Learn more about the origin of this work by reading this Q&A with Monica Bhagwan.
What We Offer
- Around the Table is a holistic, trauma-sensitive nutrition education curricula that allows facilitators and educators to run a six-session, 90-minute workshop series with teens/young adults or parents/caregivers of children.
- Introduction to Trauma-Informed Nutrition Security—90-minute presentation on basic concepts
- customized for your group—$225+
- pre-recorded webinar—$25
- Applying Trauma-Informed Principles to Your Nutrition Program—Custom, interactive half-day workshop for deeper exploration of trauma-informed approaches to food and nutrition programming; $425+
- How can my organization get involved?
- How can I learn more about trauma and how it relates to nutritional health?
- Latest Around the Table News
Join the movement to prevent adverse childhood effects (ACEs), heal trauma, and build resilience through nourishment.

How can my organization get involved?
- Request a presentation or workshop to build your staff or organizational capacity. We provide day-long trainings tailored to the needs of your organization and clients. Workshops include an introduction to trauma-informed nutrition security principles, experiential learning, collaborative cooking, mindfulness activities, and personal/professional exploration.
- Become an Around the Table facilitator. Visit our training calendar.
- Partner on another nutrition-related trauma-informed project. Are you an organization already doing trauma-informed work/care? Would you like to integrate food and nutrition programs into your work?
- Partner on garden-related trauma-informed project. Do you do garden-based work? We are preparing to apply a trauma-informed nutrition lens to school and community gardens and are seeking collaborative partners.

How can I learn more about trauma and how it relates to nutritional health?
- Watch the ACES Primer Video.
- Join our online community, ACES and Nourishment, where people can learn and share about the connection between adverse experiences and eating habits, food security, and nutritional status.
- Read the Q&A with Monica Bhagwan about our trauma-informed work.
- Read Stress in Early Life and Childhood Obesity Risk [Stress in Early Life and Childhood Obesity Risk, June 2017]
- Read Why We Need to Talk about Trauma in Public Health Nutrition — [Network Health Digest, April 2018]
- Learn more about Trauma-Informed Nutrition

Latest Around the Table News
- Understand the Difference Between Hunger and Food Insecurity (1/6/2021) - A post published by The Counter does a wonderful job of explaining the difference between these two common concepts—hunger and…
- That’s all Folks! (12/11/2020) - This week Leah's Pantry wrapped up our last successful training of 2020! Over 45 CalFresh Healthy Living participants came together…
- Piloting Around the Table at John O’Connell High School in SF (5/8/2019) - We are having a BLAST piloting Around the Table, our trauma-informed curriculum with juniors and seniors at John O'Connell High…
- Another great LIA Forum in. the. books! (1/25/2019) - Every year, all of the Local Implementing Agencies (LIAs) that receive funding to provide nutrition education to CalFresh-eligible populations gather…
- Yog-art “Around the Table” (7/26/2018) - We completed more testing of "Around the Table," our new trauma-informed cooking program, with young adults in San Diego from…
- Kaiser Obesity Prevention Program (7/19/2018) - We're sharing some foundational articles from our ACEs Food and Nourishment community. Please take 10 minutes to read these personal…
- Q&A with Monica Bhagwan About Our Trauma-Informed Work (11/14/2017) - Leah’s Pantry is so excited to share more about our trauma-informed approach to nutrition programs. Since this concept is newer…