Last night I stood in a mostly empty gymnasium inside a catholic church in NE Portland. Sitting down beside me were 18 men, women and children who had all escaped the comforts of beautiful summer weather to sweat in a large, metallic industrial kitchen. What might seem like a desperate attempt to reach out, was in fact a meaningful experience for all who attended.

Many moons ago I was approached by a woman named Kate who had read a blurb about my cooking classes in December. We emailed back and forth and she finally visited a class later that winter. Lucky for me, she liked what she saw and invited me to teach a class for her organization – Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (aka EMO.) It turns out that this local faith-based non-profit is doing a lot of exciting programming among congregations in Portland and beyond. Many of these programs focus attention on food and farms, eating healthy local foods, and preventing spread of obesity and type 2 diabetes, etc. Previous cooking classes had been successful, but this time there was an interest in critical food literacy. Beyond the basic cooking class we delved into the processed food conundrum and the environmental, economic and health-related consequences of the industrial food chain. (wow, that’s always a mouthful.)

So, over the last few months the meeting and planning and talking evolved. A binder was born, complete with recipes I had done in previous classes and relevant resources I accumulated in my diligent internet research. And last night we made the dream real.

Around 6pm, in a lone and nearly empty basketball court, I preached the gospel (pun intended) of eating local, seasonal foods. I talked about subsidies and overly cheap processed foods. Participants unveiled the importance of eating seasonally (for those that don’t know, this includes *supporting local farmers and a local economy, * eating fresh whole foods that are chock full of real nutrients, and * keeping the Earth a little bit healthier by avoiding processed and petroleum-induced food products.) Together the 18 families and individuals made enough brown rice and vegetable stir-fry to feed the masses and then some. The lovely fragrance of garlic and ginger wafted through the kitchen as young adults tossed salad greens with homemade salad dressing. To be honest, it was a fantastic class! I loved it. I loved teaching and being there as a resource. It feels really good to preach to a different choir.

So that’s what I did last night. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the food revolution is upon us! Be it school gardens or after-hours in the church kitchen, people are engaged and eager to eat healthier foods. And I am happily there to cheer them on.

Related posts:

1. Session 1 Complete!
2. Cooking Class Conundrum
3. A Successful Cooking Class
4. Cooking Class Takes New Direction
5. “From Soil to Stovetop” – A Success!

Tags: education, food literacy, Food Politics, portland