Malia is in Saturday Art Club at the UNION for Contemporary Art and she is enthusiastic. She was in the first of two youth groups to engage in a sample tasting for NMEP’s Community Harvest prepared meals program. Each Saturday, designated youth chefs are chosen to execute food service for the group by passing out the food and drinks. The youth sampled a white bean and rosemary soup with bread as a part of the tasting menu. Maila and her friends asked for second, third and even fourth helpings of the bread. The first group of young artists gave excellent feedback on flavor and texture.

With a three-hour gap between sessions, Nancy adjusted the soup recipe for the second group based on feedback from Group 1. The white beans were pureed a little more and Nancy added more spicy seasoning for heat. The input from Group 1 paid off. Group 2 was much more excited about the soup. In Group 2, three youth asked for more soup. Two requested the recipe. And the UNION staff commented that the soup tasted good.

Your gifts open doors to programs where youth like Malia can explore and create.  The young artists liked being asked their opinion and were eager to add value to the tasting by offering suggestions. Opportunities like this introduce youth to new foods and give them a chance to engage more deeply with food, learn new skills and have positive experiences that they can share with their families.