Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Victoria Eberhardt as a 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout.

Project: Relish Your Dish

In order to prepare for creating Relish Your Dish, I researched the root causes of poverty and unhealthy eating habits. I also researched how to create a menu, how to make sustainable changes, and facts about nutrition that are often overlooked, such as all vegetable oils are not healthy. Through my research, I felt more prepared to create slideshows and videos to inform members of my community about improving their nutritional practices, which became Relish Your Dish. For the slideshows, I created 5 healthy meal slideshows, 5 healthy dessert slideshows, and 5 healthy snack slideshows. Further, I took the time to find recipes that utilize a majority of ingredients that can be found at a local food pantry. Certain recipes included instructions for storage, so I was sure to include the helpful information in the slideshows. Also, I included alterations that could be made to recipes in case certain foods and/or ingredients are not available. One example is substituting table salt for kosher salt but in the ratio of three-quarters of a teaspoon table salt to one teaspoon kosher salt. For the oatmeal peanut butter banana smoothie, I was sure to include instructions for how to “blend” the smoothie without a blender. I also included a simple bean salsa for the lentil vegetable quesadillas recipe, in case individuals do not have access to salsa from the store. The other part of my project, that addressed meal preparation, included helpful tips videos. I created three different videos, one addressing knife safety, one teaching how to slice and dice an onion, and one detailing how to sauce pasta to perfection. I worked closely with various members of St. Leo the Great of Amherst, including their business manager, website designer, and pantry coordinator. Relish Your Dish is able to be utilized by members of my community, as it is a part of St. Leo’s website. To finance Relish Your Dish, I used the proceeds I was able to fundraise through QSP and cookie sales to purchase video creating software for the helpful tips videos and to make a food and toiletry donation to their food pantry. In the end, I was able to donate 61 pounds of food, 12 boxes of Kleenex, and 5 tubes of toothpaste. Relish Your Dish has impacted my community by offering knowledge and tips that encourage healthier eating habits through recipes that offer ways to prepare nutritious meals and tips that allow for more safe and efficient cooking.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into “going for the Gold.” A Girl Scout’s project should be something that a girl can be passionate about—in thought, deed, and action that encompasses organizational, leadership, and networking skills. The project should also fulfill a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global) and create change that has the potential to be on-going or sustainable. Approximately 80 hours of community service are involved in the project. Completion of the Gold Award also qualifies the Girl Scout for special scholarship opportunities and she can enlist in the military at a higher starting pay grade. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the most prestigious award in the world for girls, acknowledges the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. The Gold Award requires a Girl Scout to identify an issue and investigate it to understand what can be done to address the problem. The girl then forms a team to act as a support system, including a project advisor close to the issue who is not a troop leader or family member, while she leads the project. The Girl Scout creates a plan to ensure they know what steps they must tackle while working on the project. The Girl Scout submits a proposal for her project to her local Girl Scout council. After acceptance, the girl begins to work through the steps of their plan utilizing the assistance of her support team where necessary. Lastly, the project is used to educate and inspire others about the cause they are addressing. For more information on the Gold Award,  click here.