February – Los Angeles, CA – Common Threads, a leading national nonprofit committed to fostering health and wellness through cooking and nutrition education, is proud to announce a transformative multi-year partnership with the Anahata Foundation, supported by a $220,000 grant over two years. Together, these organizations will leverage their shared commitment to advancing the “Food is Medicine” movement and creating generational health in underserved communities in Los Angeles and New York City.

This partnership will focus on Common Threads’ groundbreaking Kitchen Clinic and Chef-Led Small Bites programs, equipping students with the knowledge and tools to build healthier futures. By integrating culturally relevant, hands-on culinary education with actionable health insights, these programs empower youth to make informed choices about their diets and overall wellness.

“At Common Threads, we believe the kitchen is a classroom—a space where we learn to transform our health, fight disease, and thrive through the power of food,” said Linda Novick O’Keefe, CEO & Co-Founder of Common Threads. “Partnering with the Anahata Foundation allows us to deepen our impact in LA and NYC by addressing the root causes of chronic disease and health disparities. Together, we’re empowering young people to rewrite the narrative for their families and communities, one recipe at a time.”

Empowering Youth Through the Kitchen Clinic

The Kitchen Clinic program is at the heart of this partnership. Designed for high school students, the initiative blends hands-on cooking classes with nutrition education, focusing on how food can prevent and manage chronic conditions. By connecting the dots between culinary skills and health literacy, the program emphasizes that food truly is medicine.

“Taking the Kitchen Clinic class has been an amazing experience for me as a culinary arts student,” said a 12 grade Kitchen Clinic participant from Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. “I’ve learned so much about the medicinal properties of different foods and how they can help promote health and wellness. It’s exciting to understand how ingredients can be used not just to create delicious meals, but also to support wellbeing. This class has deepened my passion for cooking and inspired me to explore the powerful connection between food and health.”

The partnership will enable the expansion of Kitchen Clinics in both cities, delivering these essential life skills to more students and creating a ripple effect in their families and communities.

Savoring Health with Chef-Led Small Bites

Complementing the Kitchen Clinic program, the Chef-Led Small Bites initiative brings professional chefs into elementary and middle schools and community spaces to prepare simple, nutritious snacks while engaging students in conversations about the role of food in achieving optimal health. These vibrant, interactive sessions inspire students to explore healthy eating in a fun and approachable way.

Building Generational Health

The collaboration between Common Threads and the Anahata Foundation represents a bold step forward in addressing health inequities and laying the foundation for generational health. This partnership is deeply aligned with the vision and values of Mark Bertolini, a passionate advocate for holistic health and well-being. As the founder of the Anahata Foundation, Bertolini has long championed initiatives that address systemic inequities and empower individuals to lead healthier lives. His belief in the transformative power of education and community engagement is central to this collaboration.

“Partnering with Common Threads aligns perfectly with the Anahata Foundation’s mission of holistic health and healing,” said Mark T. Bertolini, Trustee of the Anahata Foundation. “We’re thrilled to support programs that not only educate but also inspire, helping young people and their families see food as a gateway to wellness.”

Through this collaboration, Common Threads and the Anahata Foundation aim to honor Bertolini’s legacy of innovation and compassion, creating pathways for youth to reimagine their relationships with food and health while building stronger, more resilient communities.

About Common Threads:

Common Threads is a national leader in enhancing community health through the power of nutrition and food. For over two decades, the nonprofit has been addressing the often-neglected connection between nutrition and overall well-being by providing nutrition education, cooking skills training, and food access.

Operating in-person and digitally, Common Threads has partnerships with over 2,200 schools, provided more than five million meals, and has positively impacted the long-term nutritional health of over one million individuals. From the nation’s largest public school districts in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, to various community organizations and medical institutions, its efforts are widespread. For additional information, please visit commonthreads.org.

By Council of Great City Schools Superintendent-in-Residence, Michael Hinojosa and Common Threads Co-Founder and CEO, Linda Novick O’Keefe

Imagine a world where every child grows up understanding the vital connection between the food they eat and their overall health. A world where no child goes to bed hungry and everyone has equal access to the nutritious, culturally appropriate food they need to thrive. This does not need to be merely a dream, but rather a reality within reach. It’s a journey that unites the sometimes disconnected worlds of hunger, proper nutrition, and health.  As American society faces complex challenges related to food, nutrition, and health, the time is now for leaders across the nation to advocate for change and transformational vision. It’s time to turn the food system on its head, fight hunger, and wage war on diet-related diseases. The goal? By 2030, food will be elevated to the center of all health discussions, not as a mere necessity, but as a powerful tool for societal change.

This vision is not merely about access to food; it’s also about ensuring access to nutritious, culturally conscious foods and health-promoting activities. Communities most at risk of diet-related diseases often find themselves with scarce access to such resources. This stark disparity sheds light on the need for a more equitable food policy and education.

The educational approach should extend beyond traditional academics to include life skills like understanding the importance of nutrition, developing age-appropriate cooking skills, and gaining hands-on experience with sustainable food practices. According to the CDC, American students receive less than eight hours of nutrition education each school year—woefully short of the 40 to 50 hours needed to foster lasting behavioral change.

Written By: Michelle Truong

Growing up as a first generation Vietnamese American, I can vividly recall my parents struggling with the delicate balance of assimilating to American culture while keeping our Vietnamese roots, language and customs alive after immigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam. 

Today as an adult with kids of my own, I’m finding that I am experiencing a similar struggle of wanting to pass on our rich Asian culture to my kids while celebrating the melting pot of cultures, foods and traditions we find in our vibrant home city of Houston, Texas. 

Without a doubt, one of the most important aspects of Vietnamese culture is food. Food is a way we connect with loved ones, celebrate special occasions and preserve memories of the homeland. From flavorful charcoal grilled meats called “thịt nướng” to savory and sweet dessert soups, also known as “chè” and everything in between. Vietnamese foods will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to the dedication of my parents. 

Many Vietnamese immigrants living in America have made it a priority to preserve their culture by seeking out traditional ingredients to continue making the dishes they love, such as bánh cuốn (thin sheets of rice paper stuffed with savory fillings), bánh mì (French influenced baguettes with meats, pickled vegetables and unctuous handmade mayonnaise), and bún bò Huế (spicy beef noodle soup.) It is also common to gather with family and friends to make and share these dishes, passing down the cooking techniques and recipes generation by generation. 

I am always surprised, yet overjoyed, when my children ask for phở (the national dish of Vietnam) for dinner or when they happily add pungent fish sauce onto their favorite Vietnamese dishes. If you’re finding yourself feeling challenged with keeping your own culture and traditions alive, below are 5 habits that I’ve adopted into my parenting that have helped both me and my children nurture our Asian American heritage and embrace new traditions. 

1. Practice traditional greetings! While it is difficult speaking Vietnamese to my kids all the time, it is a must that they are able to greet their elders in a traditional manner. When greeting their grandparents, they’re expected to fold their arms together and bow as they say, “Chào bà ngoại” for grandma or “Chào ông ngoại” for grandpa. 
2. Research the national foods of your country of origin and beyond! Commit to making a new cultural dish as a family. In our family, my kids love to help cook fragrant jasmine rice, which is a staple in the Vietnamese dietary pattern. They are in charge of rinsing the rice until the water runs clear and they love splashing starchy water around in the rice pot. Common Threads has an extensive collection of culturally responsive recipes that can help get you started in exploring the foods of other cultures!
3. Interview an elder! Our elders have amazing stories of how they persevered through difficult times. Whether they were immigrants, like mine, or were born in America, this practice of generational storytelling can help connect both young and old. 
4. Celebrate the holidays of your native country! Our favorite Vietnamese holiday is Lunar New Year (Tết) which is celebrated in either January or February. My children love saying, “Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!” which means “Happy New Year” in Vietnamese before being rewarded with bright red envelopes filled with lucky money. In Vietnam, it is tradition to wear new red Vietnamese dresses called “ao dai” and visit our elders. 
5. Make new family traditions of your own! While traditions passed down by generation are wonderful to honor and practice, it’s also great to build new traditions of your own. In my family, we find ways to connect by playing a game at dinner called “High, Low, Tomorrow” where we all share the best thing that happened during the day, the worst thing that happened, and something we are looking forward to tomorrow. 

Family and traditions are important. They help to foster a positive and healthy family culture that can be passed on from one generation to the next. They also give us a true sense of belonging while reinforcing our history, values and beliefs. Whether it’s practicing an old tradition or adopting a new one, embrace your roots, celebrate those that came before you and take pride in the special mix of cultures and traditions that make you who you are! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle comes from a long line of educators and believes it’s in her blood. Her grandparents and mother taught for many decades before passing the torch down to her. She is a seasoned educator with a passion for teaching a culturally responsive curriculum and equipping youth with life skills that will prepare them for adulthood. As the Education and Training Manager at Common Threads, Michelle gets to combine two of the things she loves most– education and cooking!

Written By: Alanna McCoy

October is recognized as Farm to School Month, an opportunity to celebrate the connections and partnerships between students, schools, local food, and farms. Everyday, Farm to School programs across the country are supporting local agriculture, increasing the amount of nutrient rich meals served at schools, and empowering children and families to make healthier food choices.

On September 28, 2022 the White House recognized and addressed the critical role that school food plays in improving the health and nutrition of students in its Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Pillar 3 includes a focus on increasing access to local foods to improve the food environment and connect people to healthy options, including at school. As described in the Strategy, the USDA will continue their work to “strengthen and diversify the suppliers that provide healthy, nutritious, and local foods to schools.” Common Threads is excited to champion this Pillar of the White House’s Strategy (among others) and celebrate Farm to School month!

Common Threads was awarded a USDA Farm to School Grant in 2020 and is a proud Farm to School program partner. Our Farm to School project is focused in Chicago, where we are working to refine a farmer-informed local sourcing system for our organization that highlights produce grown in the communities we serve. A few examples of our current farm partnerships partners include The Farm on Ogden, Cedillos Fresh Produce, and Just Roots Chicago, with which we are working to bring unique programming to schools in North Lawndale and surrounding neighborhoods. 

In Farm to School Small Bites Workshops, students 3-5 engage in interactive nutrition education, learning about seasonal fruits and veggies and working together to prepare a healthy, locally grown snack. In Farm to School Cooking Skills classes, students learn how to roast, bake, saute, and use knives properly as they prepare healthy meals alongside a professional chef, using local ingredients from Chicago-based urban farms. To date, students have had the opportunity to prepare meals like Loaded Farmer’s Baked Potato with Garlicky String Beans and Minestrone Soup with Herb Crostini. 

This year, Common Threads is honored to have the generous support of Builders Initiative in addition to the USDA, which is allowing us to expand programming and provide more students with Farm to School education experiences. Further, this support is allowing us to build our capacity to meaningfully engage farmers and other food system leaders in designing a local sourcing system for our organization that benefits all stakeholders, including urban farms, chefs instructors, students, and families.

Rooted in our belief that food is medicine, Common Threads’ programs provide a strong foundation for positive lifelong nutrition and grow well being in our communities. Join us as we celebrate Farm to School month and visit or shop a local farm or produce stand near you. You can find local farms by visiting www.localharvest.org. To support Common Threads and find out more about our Farm to School programs visit. www.commonthreads.org/programs.

ABOUT COMMON THREADS

Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play.

On Monday, August 8, Common Threads hosted a Community Top Chef cooking competition in Los Angeles. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, this event celebrated the upcoming launch of Common Threads’ High School Career Exploration pilot program, a collaboration with LAUSD, Susan Miller Dorsey High School, and Chef Sonja Mason. Common Threads’ forthcoming pilot program will be hosted by Susan Miller Dorsey High School and Chef Sonja Mason, the head of the culinary program at Dorsey. Sonja is an experienced chef and advocate for good nutrition, and her commitment to culinary education at Dorsey High School is a key part of our partnership. 

At the August 8 event, Common Threads along with Chef Sonja and her team turned the Dorsey High courtyard into an outdoor Top Chef kitchen as community members, students, and celebrity chefs gathered for a friendly competition. The event was emceed by Chef Antonia Lofaso and Lilly Rocha, CEO of LA’s Latino Restaurant Association. We were joined by LA Weekly, ABC7, Our Weekly and numerous media outlets. Alongside the cooking competition, Common Threads showcased a Small Bites snack-making demo for attendees. Chef Instructor Milton Guinses and students from Glenfeliz Elementary including Felix Gonzalez-Celaya, Olivia Pedraza, and Aleah Quinery prepared refreshments to share with guests as they watched the competition.

The cooking competition featured four teams each composed of a Top Chef alum and a student chef from Dorsey High School. Each team was given an original Common Threads recipe, with fifty minutes to prepare the recipe and incorporate the secret ingredient: jicama. Team One featured Chef Shirley Chung and student chef Alex Maya making vegetable stir fry. Team two featured Chef Elizabeth Falkner and student chef Drew Crisp Solomon preparing the cauliflower rice bowl. Team three featured Chef Govind Armstrong and student chef Brian Morales, making fish tacos. The final team featured Chef Stephanie Izard and student chef Guadalupe Hernandez Santiago.

The competition concluded with guest judges tasting the culinary creations of each team. Judges included Chef Sonja Mason-Briscoe of Dorsey High School and Les Affaires Events, Nichol Whiteman of the LA Dodgers Foundation, and Assemblymember Isaac Bryan of California 54th Assembly District. Judges named Chef Stephanie Izard and student chef Guadalupe Hernandez Santiago the winning team for their take on the Common Threads’ Doro Wat recipe. 

Common Threads is grateful to be innovating and revitalizing our work in Los Angeles. We are thankful for all who joined us for this special event, and to Kaiser Permanente for their generous sponsorship. Special thanks to the Top Chefs, students, parents, community leaders, and the LAUSD and Susan Miller Dorsey staff, all of whom helped us make the day a success.

EVENT GALLERY

Common Threads is piloting a new STEM-focused cooking and nutrition program in partnership with Susan Miller Dorsey High School. This innovative pilot program will cohort 20 high school students from the 9th and 10th grades to participate in chef-led cooking classes. These students will then serve as Small Bites facilitators at 5 nearby elementary schools to lead hands-on nutrition education lessons for 150-200 school students.

Designed to be so much more than mere cooking classes, this program aims to help the students:

• Build personal nutrition and culinary skills through hands-on training
• Learn about nutrition-related healthcare careers through guest speakers and interning as Small Bites facilitators with Common Threads
• Foster healthy communications skills as they co-teach health-centric lessons to elementary and middle school students

Currently, many traditional high school culinary education programs in the United States focus on workplace readiness for the culinary industry, but this pilot seeks to bridge the gap between culinary education and nutritional healthcare training. The students involved in the program will be equipped with nutrition knowledge so that they understand the relationship between food, diet, and personal health. With the growing prevalence of diet-related disease in the United States, Common Threads seeks to begin to address these issues through implementing preventative efforts at the individual, community, and public health levels. There is a major nutritional knowledge gap amongst health care professionals today, with just 29% of US-based medical schools offering the recommended 25 hours of nutrition education. 

“Given that healthcare increasingly considers nutrition to be a key part of addressing patient health, there is an opportunity to innovate on traditional career exploration programs. Empowering high school students with the knowledge and skill directly related to their health is instrumental in achieving health equity. The internship component of the program will promote the healthcare industry and the notion that culinary and nutrition can also be a pathway into STEM-based careers.” – Stephanie Folkens, VP of Programs | Common Threads

This pilot program launch comes after two years of Common Threads having to suspend programming in the Los Angeles area as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Common Threads has been active in the Los Angeles area for over 15 years, having taught cooking and nutrition education classes to more than 130,000 Angelenos at 200+ schools. As we move forward from COVID-19, Common Threads is working to build back its programming in the Los Angeles area, starting with a special Community Top Chef event to kick off the launch of this amazing pilot program at Susan Miller Dorsey High School this school year.

This Community Top Chef event will celebrate the health and wellness at Susan Miller Dorsey High with a live example of our cooking and nutrition program. Guests will experience a California Harvest-themed cooking competition with teams composed of some of the high school students, community leaders, and some of L.A.’s renowned chefs. Read more about the special guest and participants joining us in celebration of this program launch below.

ABOUT COMMON THREADS

Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play. We know that food is rooted in culture and tradition so we promote diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them.

Written by: Alejandra Zamora

Since Common Threads’ inception nearly two decades ago, the organization has  always had great engagement and support from corporate and foundation partners over the years, with several groups stepping forward to indicate support for cooking and nutrition education. In late 2020, one particular partnership started heating up, opening a spicy new world for Common Threads. 

First We Feast is a digital media brand that bridges the gap between food, drinks and pop culture. You may know them from two of their most well-loved programs, The Burger Show and Hot Ones, which are fun, niche-specific shows that talk with A-list celebrities like Kevin Hart, Elijah Wood and Charlize Theron all while making you drool for burgers and wings. The First We Feast team approached Common Threads via email in fall 2020, indicating that the organization was very aligned with First We Feast’s goals for cause marketing. The resulting conversations showed that First We Feast is just as passionate and delighted about food and nutrition as Common Threads is. 

“When we were looking for charities to partner with, we fell in love with Common Threads,” said Dominique Burroughs, a producer at First We Feast. “The mission of giving back to the communities by teaching the next generation about nutrition and providing meals to families in need was so powerful; we wanted to be a part of it.”

The Common Threads team quickly realized that a partnership between two different brands that both prioritized making good food fun and approachable would flourish. Now, a little over a year since Common Threads was selected as the official charity partner of First We Feast, so many wonderful creations and rewards have come about as a result. Here are some of our favorite highlights of the Common Threads x First We Feast friendship.

Holiday Extravaganza

Picture Hot Ones host Sean Evans and iconic chef Gordon Ramsay chaotically laughing (and try not to break down) while eating super spicy wings and acclaimed rapper and producer T-Pain accepting a trophy shaped like a bottle of hot sauce. That’s essentially a glimpse of what went down at the Hot Ones Holiday Extravaganza, one of our biggest fundraising collaborations with First We Feast that resulted in over $130,000 in funds raised for Common Threads during the 2021 holiday season. 

As Evans said, “every little bit counts to help kids in under-resourced communities make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn and play.”

The Holiday Extravaganza also featured the launch of Hot Ones Jr., a mild, green hot sauce that was specially created for children. Four students from longtime Common Threads partner Brooklyn Green School were featured as product testers. The tastefully green sauce celebrates an array of complementary flavors like mildly spicy jalapeño peppers, tart green apples, sweet bananas and other yummy ingredients. 

 “As a project, it’s probably one of things we’re most proud of in our nearly 10 years as a brand, and the ‘Hot Ones Jr,’ segment that we produced with the help of students from Common Threads was so fun and heartwarming,” said Chris Schonberger, the creator and executive producer of Hot Ones. “Seeing our audience rally around the cause and donate nearly $130,000 really galvanized the team around the impact this partnership can have.”

Summer Health Campaign

A staple of Common Threads is its annual Summer Health Campaign, where the team initiates a focused fundraising and awareness effort to address issues of food insecurity in the summer months. The end of school also means the end of reliable, consistent meals like breakfast and lunch for the length of the break, as well as a “summer slide” of knowledge that happens because students are out of the classroom for a long period of time. When First We Feast heard of Common Threads’ goal to combat some of these typical occurrences, they jumped on board with their support, helping to promote the campaign. In total, the campaign exceeded its $15,000 fundraising goal! 

So many nutritious summer recipes and health tips were shared with and loved by students and more thanks to this campaign; in fact, Burroughs found a new favorite drink thanks to the summer health campaign! 

“The strawberry pineapple agua fresca is a fun, refreshing drink on a hot day. I’ve actually made it a few times and had the ingredients ready in my fridge all last summer!”

Hot Ones Products for Kids

Children are the main motivators behind everything we do at Common Threads, so it was only natural that First We Feast created their very own hot sauce for kids.

First We Feast also created a puzzle for kids (and kids-at-heart) to solve when they’re not teasing their taste buds with heat. A portion of the proceeds from each puzzle sale benefits Common Threads, yet another way for the First We Feast brand to give back.

Clearly, the love is felt all around, from our Common Threads class students to our friends at First We Feast and employees here at our organization, including our CEO and co-founder, Linda Novick-O’Keefe.

“After 18 years of doing this work, one of my biggest lessons has been that partnerships matter. In fact, partnerships are everything,” she said. “Common Threads is grateful to be the official charity partner of First We Feast; their support has raised funding for our programs and generated awareness for our organization and the importance and connection between healthy cooking, eating and living.”

Common Threads’ partnership with First We Feast has been nothing short of amazing and a great success since inception, and we can’t wait to see what else we cook up in the near future. Stay tuned! 

ABOUT COMMON THREADS

Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play. We know that food is rooted in culture and tradition so we promote diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them.

Written By: Jeneene Connelly

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means it is time to give thanks and gather with our loved ones! 

Food is one of the most important traditions during Thanksgiving, with many families selecting dishes like turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans for their meal. Other families incorporate dishes from their family or cultural heritage for this special occasion. 

Common Threads has come up with three simple ways you can make your Thanksgiving a healthy one, regardless of how you celebrate.

Trim the Turkey:

Let’s start off with the most important component of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, the turkey! Did you know that the white meat of a turkey is healthier than the dark meat? Dark meat, found in the legs and thighs of a turkey, contains more fat and calories than white meat; the white meat of a turkey has more protein, vitamins, and minerals that you need daily!

Looking for a healthy turkey recipe, but don’t want to go through the trouble of making a large turkey? Check out our Herb Roasted Turkey Breast recipe! 

Swap to Sweet Potatoes

While regular potatoes and sweet potatoes have very similar nutritional benefits, sweet potatoes contain antioxidants that help prevent stress and inflammation in your body.  They also have a lower glycemic index, which means they help balance your blood sugar levels. 

This year, try swapping out regular mashed potatoes with our Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe! Or if you’re looking for a sweet and healthy dessert, try our Sweet Potato Pie Bars !

Cut the Casserole

Green bean casserole can take a lot of time to prepare, among all of the other traditional Thanksgiving side dishes. On top of the lengthy cooking time, green bean casserole typically contains an abundance of unwanted fat and high amounts of sodium. For example, just one can of creamed mushroom soup, typically used in a green bean casserole recipe, contains 22 grams of fat and 2,190 mg of sodium.  That’s 95 percent of your recommended daily intake of sodium! 

Instead of spending your time making another casserole, swap it out with our fresh and tasty String Beans recipe that will be a healthier alternative side dish for the family! 

Bottom Line: To make your Thanksgiving meal healthier, choose lean protein, swap your side dishes with options that are high in fiber and antioxidants, and opt to use fresh, whole foods whenever possible! 

For more delicious Holiday recipes, visit our Recipe Gallery. 

From all of us at Common Threads, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! 

—

Sources: 

• Red and Purple Coloured Potatoes as a Significant Antioxidant Source in Human Nutrition – A Review (Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences)
• Glycemic Index Research and GI News (University of Sydney)
• Green Bean Casserole (USDA)
• Cream of Mushroom Soup (USDA) 

Written by: Lucas King | Common Threads Marketing Intern

In late October, Common Threads teamed up with local leaders to hold a virtual panel discussion focused on nutrition equity in South Florida. Common Threads Co-Founder and CEO Linda Novick O’Keefe led the discussion with Miami-Dade County School principals Milagros Maytin-Miret and Yolanda Ellis, Paco Velez, the CEO of Feeding South Florida (the area’s largest food bank), state Rep. Vance Aloupis, state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Sen. Rene Garcia, a commissioner for Miami-Dade County district 13.

Principals Ellis and Maytin-Miret, representing Arcola Lake Elementary and W.J. Bryan Elementary, respectively, were the first panelists to speak to their experiences and the impact that COVID-19 has had on the health of students in their respective schools. 

When discussing food insecurity during the pandemic, Maytin-Miret highlighted the importance of access to fresh fruits and vegetables for families who might not have been able to otherwise access them, referencing her school’s collaboration with Common Threads early in the pandemic, when the Common Threads provided fresh fruits and vegetables and chef-prepared meals to families for several weeks (learn more). 

Ellis observed that a number of families and students at Arcola Lake Elementary who became reliant on the hot meals that the school district and local businesses were providing during the pandemic. “At our school, we had a core group of families that were really dependent on those meals, and they were very appreciative of being able to feed their families when many of them were out of work or laid off,” Ellis said.

Miami is a global city, and meeting people where they are means being culturally responsive. Velez explained that Feeding South Florida has moved toward choice pantries, allowing those who utilize their services to choose foods that suit their needs. The organization has also started working with school pantries, which has led to better performance from students, and more engagement from parents into their children’s nutrition. While the pandemic has made some of these interventions more difficult, Feeding South Florida has made the most improvements to their home delivery systems. 

Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez emphasized the importance of avoiding early diet-related health interventions for children by making sure they have access to healthy foods. She explained that diseases such as diabetes and hypertension can be prevented with a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables, and supporting organizations such as Feeding South Florida helps ensure access to all families. 

“From a legislative perspective… we invest in healthy nutritional programs,” Sen. Rodriguez said. “(Programs) like Common Threads will help keep people healthy, and help keep the cost of health care down.” 

Sen. Rene Garcia emphasized inequities in health care stem from nutritional inequities, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that many governmental departments try to solve these issues, but they often cannot get as much accomplished because they do not communicate enough with one another. 

“It’s what you put in your mouth that makes all the difference in the world,” Sen. Garcia said, stressing the importance of funding nutrition education programs like Common Threads. Sen. Garcia also emphasized the importance of making it fun to cook with fruits and vegetables, while also involving family members, too.

State Representative Vance Aloupis, who also serves as CEO of The Children’s Movement of Florida, shared the importance of providing healthy foods in South Florida schools, and integrating nutrition into early childhood education. Aloupis stresses that schools need to provide these healthy foods, while also preparing students to live a healthy lifestyle in the future by teaching them to cook healthy foods at home. Together with Sen. Rodriguez, Rep. Aloupis is co-sponsoring Common Threads’ 2022 Florida appropriation request for $333,000 in funding to expand and sustain the organization’s cooking and nutrition education programs.

“I’ve seen what it means for the students who get to participate (in Common Threads programs),” Rep. Aloupis said. “Those students are incredibly lucky to be able to participate in your program, but we don’t want this to be a program for only students, we want this to be available for as many students as possible”.

The panel discussion may be viewed below in its entirety.