In the winter of 1997 I purchased our office building. A building constructed in 1896, it was truly a by-gone mansion that had been used, misused and abused. It took a year and a half to reconstruct what had gone missing, but the rebirth was worth the time and intense work. When NTI opened its doors with the nutrition curriculum in September of 1999, we found ourselves in a building that reflected beauty, care and respect for our world, the values NTI stands for.

In September of 1999, we held our first nutrition classes. Classes were small at first and gradually began to build. It takes time for a new approach to a field to take shape. As the nutrition programs were expanding, it became apparent that there were still a couple of pieces missing.

The first piece was the study of herbs. The study of nutrition is not complete without the knowledge of therapeutic herbs. Unfortunately, too often herbology is taught from an allopathic point of view, i.e. simply applying specific herbs in a recipe for ailments. This is a very superficial way to learn about herbs and can often be found in nutrition programs that include herbs within a nutrition curriculum.

Herbs, like food, are therapeutic and affect the body in significant ways. Therefore to work with them and understand them in depth is important for an herbal practitioner and a nutrition practitioner. For this reason NTI now offers a stand-alone herb therapy program. Four years ago we began our online program which includes the study of culinary herbs, herbs to support each body system, medicine making techniques, and practical applications. It is an excellent foundation program and gives a rich basis on which to build expertise in this field that could take a lifetime to thoroughly study.

The second missing piece was how to put the wonderful nutrients found in whole foods on the dinner table. And so the Natural Foods Chef Program was born. Our stand alone cooking program is unique in its presentation of cooking techniques, study of therapeutic foods, nutrition principles and business approaches. To house such a superb program, we needed a kitchen that would inspire, comfort and challenge our students. We renovated another building just three doors down from our main building to present a beautiful and functional cooking space. We have been going strong there for the past three years and look forward to many years to come.

And now we have hit a milestone. It took ten seasons for us to outgrow our nutrition program classroom space. Our classes were originally held in the main building. Just for this past year, our classes have temporarily been held at a nearby community center. This fall however, we are moving into yet another newly renovated building on our same block. Our nutrition classrooms will be held on the corner of York Street and Colfax Avenue.

Our neighborhood is indeed a renaissance area and NTI is happy to be participating in an environment of new ideas, new approaches and revitalization! We are urban dwellers and our campus has become an urban expression, joining the rebirth of turn-of-the century buildings. It is for NTI students, faculty and staff, a time and a place of creation, personal growth, intellectual challenge and the fulfillment of our dreams of renovating our own health and experiencing the underlying grand vitality that is ours.