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!