Nutritious and delicious: Hunger Task Force teaches MPS students of color how to eat healthy
Small hands pat radish seeds into the dark, rich soil, as young faces smile in anticipation. Within a few weeks, the children will watch the seeds sprout at the Hunger Task Force farm in Franklin.
The 20 children, primarily elementary schoolers, come from Allen-Field Elementary School and Hmong American Peace Academy for a second annual summer program, Cooking with Culture.
The students meet from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays for six weeks during the summer. Each year, Hunger Task Force reaches out to teachers and parents to sign up their kids to be selected.
The group gathers at the Hunger Task Force farm to learn about harvesting vegetables, preparing meals and developing nutritious habits.
Matt King, CEO of Hunger Task Force, said the purpose of the program is to teach nutrition through a cultural lens. King said nutrition education in public schools is not at the level it should be.
“This is a celebration of diversity within our community and within our country,” King said. “One of the key pieces for creating dignity for the people that we serve is celebrating the different food traditions and different cultural traditions around food.”
Pasua Chang, founder of Cooking with Culture, said the program started as an effort to be more inclusive with the children it provides resources to.
“It kind of started as an initiative to include more cultures into our programming. We wanted to have diverse groups of students come, and then we also wanted to provide some insight into what foods other cultures eat and how they do things,” Chang said.
On July 9, the children celebrated food by cooking West African okra gumbo. In addition to cooking, the students learn more about where the food they’re eating comes from and what culture it belongs to.
One student was ready to show off her new skills in the kitchen.
Eight-year-old Taylor Jennings said her favorite part of the program has been learning new recipes and making food. Her favorite food is burgers, but she said she was also excited to cook gumbo, a dish she enjoys.
Photo credit: Max Correa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The meals taught to the students have five components: dairy, vegetables, protein, fruit and grains. Chang said this is important because nutrition is not always a possibility at home due to multiple food deserts in Milwaukee.
“Some kids, they don’t have the variety of foods to choose from at home,” Chang said. “With our summer program, we’re just really exposing them to all the different foods that are out there. It’s not just chicken nuggets.”
Hunger Task Force also offers a mobile market in nearby communities that provides healthy food items at 50% off store prices to make nutritious options more accessible.
Seven-year-old Nylon Ealy said his favorite dish he has cooked during the program has been broccoli and chicken.
“I learned cooking,” Nylon said. It’s an important skill to have because “we cook to eat.”
Twin sisters Pachaia and Paderchia Yang both said of all the activities in the program, they love cooking the most.
“My favorite thing is cooking and cutting,” said Pachaia, 10. “I also learned how to fry things.”
Paderchia said her favorite thing she’s cooked so far has been sesame noodles.
“Cooking is the best part,” she said. “It’s kind of fun.”
Many students rely on their school meals during the school year, but summertime leaves many children without access to healthy lunches. The program aims to not only provide the children with healthy meals but give them the tools to make nutritious choices in the future.
“Healthy eating at a young age really influences your chronic health conditions when you’re older,” Chang said. “It’s easier to influence a child to make healthy decisions than it is to influence an adult who has years of habits to unlearn.”
In addition to the mobile markets, Hunger Task Force also offers food banks and food drives.