Our core strength is in food delivery. When we launched our new Free Meals program, we wanted to find a partner who could complement us with whom we would launch the program—if possible a nonprofit that would also look at our relationship with our members not as a transactional one, but as one of kindness and caring.
We found one such partner in Dr. Ed Bauman of Bauman Wellness.
Like HelpBerkeley.org, Bauman Wellness is a 501©(3) nonprofit. Like us, Bauman Wellness is local to the East Bay, located at 1007 University Avenue at 9th Street. Bauman Wellness looks at caring as an essential part of a relationship: they are educators first and foremost. And, wonderfully, they believe in many of the ideas that we also believe in: organic foods, whole foods, excellent nutritional content, and diversity, equity and inclusion of providing healing food to create community wellness.
Dr. Ed Bauman, M.Ed., Ph.D., has been a leader in the field of nutrition and holistic health for 50 years. He started Bauman College in 1989, to teach individuals to make nutritionally comprehensive food choices. Three years later, he formulated the Eating for Health Model, emphasizing SOUL-A foods: Seasonal, Organic, Unprocessed, Local and Affordable. Here is what Dr B says:
"I got started on this path when I was 23 years old. And now I’m 74. So if you do the math, that’s quite a long time. I’ve always been interested in health, and food, and community, plus progressive thought and action. I was a child of the 50s and 60s, and saw that the culture was really off track. And it didn’t represent natural health values, or spirituality.
I’ve always been a good student, and caring teacher, I love my work. I was fortunate to buy an organic farm with my friends in 1970. So at a young age, I learned about nutrition from the ground up. I cooked on a wood stove, grew food, did fermentation, drying, pickling, and all that good stuff.
Looking at academia at that time (and even today), I didn’t find nutritional teachings that were valid. They were very commercial, very biased. They did not promote eating fresh, whole foods. So in 1973, I started a natural food restaurant in Greenfield, Mass. called Home Comfort, named after our woodburning stove. Since then, I have started many projects and nonprofits, all of which have been done collaboratively. I know that the model for our times is working together for the common good.
I started Bauman College in 1989 to train holistic nutritionists and natural chefs prepare food that was chemically free, hypoallergenic and delicious. Since then, we have trained over 10,000 people who bring love and care to the way they make food for people to support health and overcome disease." (mostly from fedandfit: Ep. 144: Holistic Nutrition with Dr. Ed Bauman)
In June 2020, to address escalating community tension, food and economic insecurity caused
the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr B and his board of directors shifted their attention from Bauman College to
Bauman Wellness. Dr B’s aim is to teach affordable nutrition and feed our Berkeley neighbors in
need healing food. Our partnership with Help Berkeley is one of uncommon care that is
attracting like-minded people to step up to the plate to serve. Bauman Wellness is proud to be
sowing seeds of well-being with Michel Thouati and the incredible Help Berkeley team.
Dr B is the author of Flavors of Health Cookbook, Spice for Life, Affordable Nutrition, and the best-selling Holistic Health Handbook.