Hawaiʻi County recently wrapped up a new program that aimed to bridge generational gaps, connect and care for the land, and provide community service opportunities for students — all through food.
The Hawaiʻi Island Food Basket’s 10-week Food is Medicine initiative offered free cooking classes for 19 kūpuna at the Keaʻau Community Center.
But what makes this program special is that the recipes, and many of the ingredients within them, were made by students at Keaʻau High School.
About 100 students across the culinary and agriculture classes were tasked with creating recipes that centered around ingredients like cabbage, peppers, basil, and bok choy that were grown at the school’s garden.
The recipes ranged from creamy vegan pesto, to poi vinaigrette, to ulu pancakes. The culinary students prepared recipe packets and cooking instructions for the weekly community center cooking classes, which taught the participants how to cook each meal and provided an extra recipe pack to take home for the week.
Terence Moniz, Keaʻau High school’s agriculture teacher, said he was proud of his students’ resilience and dedication to the program.
“With agriculture, if you make a mistake three weeks down the line, whether it’s over fertilizing, or a pest problem, or Mother Nature comes in and kicks us in the butt, you’re starting from scratch, ground zero, again,” Moniz said. “And in this day in age, where kids want instant gratification, I’m proud of these kids that have been so resilient to continue and not give up. I never heard the word ‘quit’ once.”
The weekly classes invited guest speakers to educate the attendees on different aspects of mindful eating and overall health. The program also partnered with the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo to track the biometrics at the beginning and end of the 10 weeks, which resulted in decreased body mass indexes and improvements in blood pressure for several participants.
Moniz said the program was a “win for everyone involved,” adding that the students were able to connect to the land, to each other, and to their community.
“When the kids were approached with this opportunity, there was no negativity, it was just that immediate eagerness to go for it,” he said. “The giving has really been heart warming for them, and for me, it’s been really great to see them open up like that.”
The seniors from the community center visited the students this week to thank them for their work.
The $20,000 program was funded through the Hawaiʻi County Council and spearheaded by councilmember Dennis Onishi. Organizers hope it will continue next year and will expand to other facilities.
