CAUSES, DC Central Kitchen collaborate for school's African Food Day

CAUSES recently had the opportunity to participate in African Food Day at Walker Jones Education Campus in Washington, D.C. A program of DC Central Kitchen, the demonstration was led by Yao Afantchao, UDC’s Ethnic Crop Development Specialist.

The 5^th – 8^th grade students were eager to try samples, although a few proceeded cautiously at first. General consensus was that the event—and the food--were both a success. 

Programs such as this allow students—many who have never been out of the country—to expand their pallet by sampling fare from around the world. As several students discovered, several of food and vegetables were familiar to them, they were just prepared differently.  

“The Students were very encouraging in their willingness to try new foods, which is not an easy thing for anyone,” said Mr. Afantchao. “We believe too that through education it will become easier for people to adapt to new tastes.”

After trying—and enjoying—a new food, students often report back to their parents, and encourage them to expand meals eaten at home. Indeed, several of the students took home recipes to share.

“At DC Central Kitchen, we enjoy exposing our students to new foods and cultures, and you were integral in helping us achieve that, said Katie Nash, DC Central Kitchen’s program manager for the School Food Services program. “Yao also taught our own team much about these specialty crops that many of us had never seen before."

Through job training, healthy food distribution, and local farm partnerships, DC Central Kitchen offers path-breaking solutions to poverty, hunger, and poor health. Since its founding, Since our founding in 1989, DC Central Kitchen has prepared 25 million meals for our low-income and at-risk neighbors in Washington, DC. 

CAUSES looks forward to future collaborations with DC Central Kitchen! Yao can be reached at yafantchao@udc.edu for more information. More information about our Ethnic and Specialty Crops Program is available here.  

Pictures from the event are available on DC Central Kitchen’s Pinterest page.