Students from Milton District High School’s Grade 10 Food and Nutrition course took the opportunity to create healthy recipes from items donated to the school’s holiday food drive to assist local families.
The goal is to encourage all students to be mindful when donating and to consider how foods can be put together to make nutritious and appealing meals, explained teacher Carrie Clarkson.
“While sorting the food into boxes of the donated food, my students surveyed the foods available and developed original recipes for balanced meals based on the donated food,” she explains, noting the hard work of Educational Assistant Marg Zuccato who organizes the food drive. “We also put the recipes into hand-crafted cards to send cheerful messages to the people receiving food donations to let them know that the students of Milton District High School care about our community members.”
Clarkson says this activity is important for students to recognize that food insecurity exists in the local community for a variety of reasons.
“I was also hoping to show the students that there are small actions that they can easily take to help make a big difference right away. In the Grade 10 Food and Nutrition Course, there is a whole strand in the curriculum that discusses food security. Especially at this time with high inflation and food prices on the rise, I thought it was really important for my students to understand that the need for donations to the food bank is more in demand than ever.”
Recipes students created:
- Green bean casserole (made with canned green beans, mushrooms soup, bread crumbs and fried onions)
- Taco bowls (made with black beans, tortilla shells, canned corn, canned tomatoes and a taco seasoning package).
“I hope to expand it even more next year, when perhaps more of the classes in our school will be able to donate bundles of food that go together, with an emphasis on vegetables and fruit, and other nutritious foods that often do not get donated,” Clarkson says.
MDHS students say the food drive-recipe activity taught them so much about the reality of food insecurity.
“Some things I can take away or learn from doing this activity are the challenges individuals who experience food insecurity face, such as poor health, as a result of this activity,” says Grade 10 student Wakee Aishan Canillo. “Additionally, contributing to the food drive/bank by making these recipe cards helps families that struggle with food insecurity by providing them with access to healthy recipes and meals, allowing them to consume nutrient-dense foods.”
Grade 10 student Veronica Sergeyeva says the activity was “heartwarming” and “illuminating.”
“I felt pleasure knowing that we, in some small way, are assisting others who struggle with food insecurities. It was incredibly enjoyable, fascinating and inspiring to go food gathering, examining the food and then creating a recipe using the foods of my choice. I hope the people who needed assistance from our cards were assisted and I felt very happy and warm inside knowing I was doing something good for the community.”
Clarkson says the activity connected strongly with the Equity & Inclusion and Mental Health & Well-Being areas of focus in the
HDSB 2020-2024 Multi-Year Plan.
“The students were asked questions about defining the components of food security, which provides a lens to critique various aspects of equity within a food-based perspective. Studies have shown that mental health and wellness are connected to quality nutritional foods, so by examining the foods that are donated to the food drive, students can take a critical look at where more nutritious foods might be needed. The thoughts they shared showed that this hands-on activity was a practical way for them to gain an understanding of the effects that food insecurity can have on community members.”
