Presenter: Sarah Coffman, Kinesiology, Global Public Health Scholars
I completed my practicum project at First Fruits Farm, a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to farming fresh produce to donate to people experiencing hunger. This summer, I collaborated with Jenn Gillespie, Chief Administrative Officer, to launch new children’s programs at the farm centered around culinary education and nutrition! To start this process, we designed a Summer Kitchen, furnished with cookware and child-protective equipment, where children can gather for classroom learning and recipe instruction, both indoor and outdoor. Next, partnerships were made with neighboring non-profit organizations to compile cooking kits, complete with the ingredients for healthy dishes, necessary supplies for preparation, and recipe cards. I designed recipe cards for five kid-approved dishes including chocolate zucchini bread and pico de gallo, both made with produce grown on the farm! Finally, we hosted cooking shows, both in-person and virtually! We filmed a cooking show in the new Summer Kitchen that can be distributed to local schools as virtual field trips as well as hosted a group of children to harvest their own produce to use in their recipes. Our goal with this educational program was to inspire children to be excited about farm-fresh cooking and the nutritional benefits of healthy recipes!
Hey Sarah, your presentation caught my attention as this issue is of great importance considering the numerous types of food available in the market right now. With plenty of food to choose from in grocery stores, it is helpful to know information about what you are buying and how to incorporate these foods into healthy meals. I was curious about how you encouraged children who are not open to trying new foods to expand their diet?
Hi Sarah, I enjoyed listening to your presentation! You took a unique direction with your project, and I liked how you decided to focus on contributing to your local organizations and helped to educate children on nutrition and healthy meals! What were some unexpected challenges that you came across in your project to work with the children?
Hi Sarah. I thought your poster was well put together, and the cooking program you helped develop is really interesting and extremely important for the kids in the future. I also loved how you adapted the program to accommodate kids who could participate in person and online.
This is such an important issue that many do not really focus on. Do you think it will it be possible to mandate culinary education in schools? If so, what will be the necessary steps to implement these programs?
Hi Sarah! I think this work is incredibly meaningful and the purpose behind it is understated. Many people are so focused on solving health issues by finding ways to cure them, however, not as many are aware that it is just as important to prevent these diseases through learning healthy habits at a young age.