Kalamazoo Teen Helps Inspire Creative, Healthy Cooking

Paris Woods, a sophomore at Loy Norrix High School, is showing her peers how to cook healthy and delicious foods with weekly videos she posts on her Paris’s Kitchen Facebook Page and the Kalamazoo Valley Community Culinary Facebook Page. Each recipe is based on the ingredients in the Grab and Go Meal Service boxes being distributed to students by various food distribution sites across the region, with a primary focus on schools. The emergency food distribution service was set up by the school districts to provide meals to students during the state-mandated school closure. In Kalamazoo, food is distributed at 20 schools and four community sites on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays. The meals are free to all children 18 years of age and younger and special education students up to age 26.

“My brother and I have been getting the free school lunches since we've been out of school,” Woods said. “I had a great idea, what if we took the food that comes every week and turn it into something yummy? One week later we had a video!”

She and her mother Melody Woods, a program coordinator for Kalamazoo Valley Community College, enlisted the help of Kalamazoo Valley’s Lizzie Luchsinger, program coordinator, chef and culinary coach. “I’m doing this to get more kids to eat the veggies that come in the bags, lessen the amount of food going in the trash, and remove the stigma around getting free lunch,” Woods explained. “It is okay to get these meals. They are pretty good, and you can even make something delicious out of them if you like to cook like I do. We're in this together and I don't want to do this alone. I want other kids to make their own yummy creations.” Other young chefs, parents, or budding foodies are encouraged to post photos of their creations and tag #ParisKitchen_ on Facebook and Instagram.

In addition to KPS, other current project collaborators include Comstock Public Schools, Portage Public Schools and Bronson Healthcare Group with the support of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Luchsinger said Woods’ project melds perfectly with existing Kalamazoo Valley initiatives. Since the fall of 2019, the college’s Community Culinary and Nutrition department has been contracted by Bronson to fulfill a SNAP/Michigan Fitness Foundation-funded community nutrition and culinary education project. The Project involves both direct education and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change work. Direct education services provided include a youth education program called The Learning Kitchen and a senior education program called Eat Smart Live Strong. The PSE work seeks to build connection and support around a determined issue or need and work toward sustainable change, Luchsinger explained.

“Prior to COVID closures, we were working with Comstock Public Schools to increase access to and consumption of locally sourced fruits and vegetables, Luchsinger said. “Since the closures, we have had to adjust our SNAP-Ed programming to more directly address food insecurity and food access. We’ve had to make changes to our program delivery model and we’ve reassigned our SNAP-Ed program specialist, Ava Daly to assist with this project and another video-based project. Our goal is for community members to still be able to access the healthy cooking and nutrition education programming we had planned, even if it can’t be face to face. School food, and Increasing access to and consumption of healthy food, has always been a priority for us and the goals expressed by Paris, through her project, are in direct alignment with our SNAP-Ed collaboration with Bronson. We are collectively working to support those goals, which are shared across institutions, community organizations and community members at large.”

Melody Woods is proud of her daughter. “She’s not an extrovert. This isn’t like anything she’s ever done before, but when she feels very passionate about a cause, she springs into action.”

Paris’ first video has already been viewed more than 2,100 times. She intends to post new videos on Fridays. Other young chefs are encouraged to post photos of their creations and tag #ParisKitchen_ on Facebook and Instagram.