The LEAN building in the SRWC recently opened and is assisting nutrition majors with their classes.

Short for the Laboratory for Experimental Activities in nutrition, the LEAN will give nutrition majors hands-on experience.

“The purpose of having this was so that not only would our students have a lab space, but that they would become master communicators in nutrition,” said Dr. Shelia Jones, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition. “So, they’re going to be doing demonstrations, and it will be on the monitor outside. People will be able to see the demonstrations.”

Bethany Brady, director of the didactic program in dietetics at ACU, also added valuable information about the LEAN’s operation.

“The LEAN is a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen created for students taking nutrition courses to gain hands-on experience in the areas of nutrition education and food preparation,” Brady said. “Overall, the goal of the LEAN is to enrich the learning experience for nutrition students while also positively impacting the Abilene community through nutrition education. Our desire is that nutrition majors graduate from ACU feeling confident in their ability to teach the skills needed to eat healthfully through experiential learning.”

While LEAN is used primarily for nutrition students, there are future plans for its use outside the department.

“While some of the plans that include providing in-person nutrition education to the Abilene community are on hold, the LEAN is currently being used for some of the nutrition courses this semester such as Food Selection and Preparation,” Brady said. “Future plans also include providing food demonstrations, cooking classes and other types of interactive nutrition education for the community.”