When I was helping out at a church luncheon yesterday, I was surprised to hear a woman say she had relatives coming for the weekend and she didn't cook. Unlike her, I look forward to having a house full of visitors who will gather around the table for meals and talk, which, I understand, is described in Spanish by the word, "sobremesa."
With the joy of cooking fresh in my mind, I saw an internet item about the Common Threads program in Chicago and New York City that teaches low-income kids, in grades three to eight, to shop and prepare healthy, nutritious meals, when parents are busy and money is tight. In one aspect of the program, students learn about the history of a particular country's food, nutrition, and ingredients. It's a hands-on program that teaches cooking techniques and how to follow a recipe.
Common Threads introduces students to new foods, like granola, whole wheat bread, cage-free chicken eggs, pesto, and various cheeses. Kids learn to make and love whole wheat pancakes, as well as salads and smoothies. There also is a gardening program, where kids might grow carrots and kale.
Instead of expecting families to make radical new food choices all at once, Common Threads invites families to make gradual changes by adding just one or two new items to each shopping list. Families who grow their own food could try planting just one or two new crops.
For more information about Common Threads and to sign up for a monthly newsletter, go to commonthreads.org/programs.
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