Caregiver Feature 
Alexandra Brown’s passion for teaching has opened new opportunities to bring hand-on nutrition education to community events.
Alexandra Brown is extremely busy. As Director of Food and Nutrition at Sturgis Hospital and Clinic and Director of the Teaching Kitchens, she spends part of her work days in menu meetings alongside Chef Kelsey Kerner. The two of them ensure the day’s hospital meals are on schedule. Alexandra then moves on to staff check-ins and scheduling, planning different upcoming Teaching Kitchen events, managing Sturgis Hospital’s Café 2140 and working on day-to-day operations of the Teaching Kitchen itself.
“I am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing team of rock stars,” Alexandra said. “They go above and beyond and make work fun. They are passionate about every task they work on, and it shows.”
Prior to taking this job, Alexandra worked in education for 12 years, so perhaps it makes sense that she runs Monument Health’s event-based instructional nutrition initiative. “I still get the itch once in a while of being back in the classroom, but that all went away once I volunteered for my first teaching kitchen,” she said.
That was at the 2023 Black Hills Stock Show. After the event, Alexandra asked to continue to be a part of the Teaching Kitchen program. “After that conversation and a green light, we were off like a rocket,” she said. “We did four more within the first five months, and we continue to add new events to our regular events that we do every year.”
Each Teaching Kitchen is a bit different, depending on the event and the space. “Some events are presentations where we show our audience how to make a certain item and provide nutritional facts about the ingredients. At other events, we make the recipe together with the audience,” she said.
“One of my favorite events was at the North Haines Volunteer Fire Department in Rapid City. We showed them how to prepare a healthy meal, provided recipe cards and had a wonderful presenter, Hollan Harper, D.O., Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician at Orthopedic & Specialty Hospital. Dr. Harper made an educational PowerPoint and answered the questions that our local heroes had.”
“I have a passion for working with our community,” Alexandra said. “I would love to be able to educate as many people as possible on healthy eating and healthy nutrition while continuing to build our Teaching Kitchen program.”
Outside of her day job, Alexandra and her husband own BK Brown Kattle Company. Located in the Newell area, the ranch holds cattle, horses, chickens and a bunch of other critters. When they can sneak away, Alexandra and her husband enjoy taking their three farm dogs to the lake for camping and fishing. Alexandra also owns a small Western boutique that consists entirely of handmade products — from saddle blanket purses to jewelry, home décor, car air fresheners and much more — that she sells at vendor shows, when time allows. As if she doesn’t have enough going on, Alexandra is also working on getting a half-acre in-ground greenhouse. Her goal is to start a garden that can help feed her community, year-round.