What drew me most to the Cooking Matters program was the concept of empowerment. Of taking situations like hunger, chronic disease, and poverty and turning them into opportunities for education and avenues for change. What makes this program unique is that it considers its participants heroes of their circumstances, not victims. As resourceful and proactive, not as careless and lazy. As having control of their lives and the possessing the ability to change.
My most satisfying experience in a Cooking Matters class came after meeting a boy, James, and his mother, Sarah. James was a highly overweight 5th grader in a Cooking Matters Families class. My first reaction to meeting him was distress about his condition and concern for all the related obstacles that would undoubtedly, I thought, be in store for him. The very first day he told me that he loved to cook and that his favorite pastime was to bake elaborate cakes with multiple tiers and homemade fondant. Remember—he is in fifth grade. I heard this news with both delight and anguish. His mother, Sarah, sat in the corner sipping a can of coke through a straw. She didn’t take part in the cooking, rather watched timidly from the side, trying to hide her soda on a shelf behind some dishware. Her shame was apparent. She mumbled a few times, “I shouldn’t be drinking this…” I reassured her that I drank coke too, sometimes. She told me that she liked getting prepackaged meals at the store because they were quick and easy and that every day her breakfast consisted of a bowl of sugary cereal.
As I’m sure you might have guessed, a change occurred in these two individuals after a few classes. By the third class, Sarah began to help chop vegetables and said that she had made various recipes at home with the take home grocery bags. James started trying new fruits and vegetables that he hadn’t been exposed to before and was cooking the recipes at home alongside his mother. In fact, he announced that he was going to be a chef when he grew up and own a restaurant, ‘just like our Chef Allen.’ At the end of every class he would hang around to see if any there were any unclaimed vegetables to scoop up. He always asked first to make sure he wasn’t taking away from any one else. I eagerly filled his bag up to the brim. Best of all, Sarah told me that she stopped eating sugary cereal for breakfast after our whole grain discussion and had begun buying different whole grain cereals and eating eggs in the mornings instead.
Sometimes when we don’t see change happen, it can feel discouraging. Often we fail to remember that most change occurs so slowly that it is invisible to the human eye. But every so often, we get a glimpse of unmistakable progress, and that makes all the difference. I started out the class feeling sympathy for Sarah and James, but ultimately was impressed by their ability to redefine their attitude towards food and use their agency to evoke positive change in their lives. Time and time again I find that I learn just as much from my participants as they learn from me. If only we could all be so self-aware and have the courage to make such honest changes-- imagine the possibilities!
