Cooking in the Schools program at Parson Hills Elementary School in Springdale.
Author: Xinyi Mao | Majors: Public Health, Psychology | Semester: Fall 2022
I’m standing at one of the three commercial kitchen tables looking out the windowed garage door for a split second as a 2nd grader dumps a spoonful of garlic powder onto their plate. I had instructed them to measure out a teaspoon of garlic powder but failed to mention that we were adding it to the Greek yogurt dip, and not the plate with their samples of crinkle-cut cucumber, carrot, radish, pepper, and kale. Thirty 2nd graders fill the teaching kitchen, hands haphazardly washed after harvesting kale outside on the farm and faces eagerly awaiting instruction. This is a typical day at Apple Seeds, a local non-profit organization dedicated to health and nutrition of young students in Arkansas with nutrition education and food donations. As I make my five-minute journey from Gulley Park to Apple Seeds, I pass the teaching kitchen, which used to be a garage or workshop, stop by the sunroom to greet Patch, the chickpea-obsessed farm cat, and walk into the office, awaiting instructions for what I’m doing that day. No two days at Apple Seeds looks the same, which keeps me on my feet.
Apple Seeds partners with various departments at the University of Arkansas, offering internships and volunteer opportunities to interested students. As a Public Health Intern, I assisted in educational programming and prepared materials and ingredients for various programs. Farm Lab and Growing My Plate were the two primary programs I helped with. Farm Lab is a field trip opportunity for 1st and 2nd grade students that integrates food, nutrition, math, science, and literacy into a program. Growing My Plate is a 6-week garden-based nutrition education course for all grade students. I facilitated lessons on the five food groups, whole grains, and added sugars, helped harvest vegetables and herbs with the students, and led tables of 8-10 students in cooking a nutritious recipe with the food they got to harvest and wash themselves. Throughout the course of this internship, I was able to meet with the staff to workshop our programs to increase accessibility and streamline the process, but also had the opportunity to observe their mission-focused mindset and donor-centric structure. Their experience varied tremendously, from marketing and non-profit management to dietetics and culinary arts, the responsibilities and leadership needed for non-profit organization are unique in demand and skillset. My time spent in the office consisted of helping set up for various fundraiser and donor appreciation events, writing hundreds of labels to the point where ‘squash’ and ‘radishes’ didn’t seem like real words anymore, and working on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the various programs we had. Aside from the nutrition education aspect of their mission, Apple Seeds takes steps toward increasing access to fresh produce to students as well. Multiple times a week, I would walk into the kitchen to find hundreds of pounds of romaine lettuce, winter squash, zucchini and eggplant, carrots, tomatoes, pears, and of course, apples, spread out on drying towels, waiting to be bagged with easy and customizable recipes. These bags are then distributed to partner organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, the Yvonne Richardson Community Center, and Outback, the Fayetteville Public Schools district food pantry.
As I enter my last semester of college and prepare to take a gap year (or two) before medical school, I reflect on the connotations of ‘food’ and what disparities exist in both Arkansas and the nation in terms of accessibility. Food connects families, friends, strangers, and cultures, and is vital to maintaining a sense of security and belonging. Fresh food is fundamental across communities, regions, and nations, and is incredibly versatile. Give 30 students a bag of tomatoes to bring home to family and friends, and you’ll find those tomatoes used in 30 unique recipes. Proper nutrition and access to nutrient-dense foods are also vital to the health of individuals and communities. Access to fresh food is limited, especially for students in low-income households, students in food deserts, and students experiencing food insecurity. While Apple Seeds isn’t the typical public health initiative, it educates, empowers, and equips young students to cook and try new foods and share the experience with their family and friends. In a state where students receive on average 3.4 hours of nutrition education annually, Apple Seeds is increasing the amount while also providing an enriching, hands-on experience for students. I am more aware of the importance of different foods on our health, which in turn provides valuable knowledge in my future career as a physician. A patient’s health and wellbeing are microscopic, where genetics and medical history play a part, but are also macroscopic, due to socioeconomic and environmental factors that largely determine Americans’ health outcomes and quality of life that are oftentimes beyond their control. As a health care provider, compassion and advocacy for social welfare and health policy will be a central value of mine. Apple Seeds has given me a powerful perspective to view health and nutrition in Arkansas, and I hope to continue to utilize my experience for future endeavors.