Community Garden Cook-off

any

Youth

Older Adults

Public Housing Residents

Immigrants/ Migrants

Low Income People

Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color

Community gardens, while being an obvious boon to the environment, also have a tremendous potential for health education. All of us need to eat more vegetables and less processed food to avoid chronic health issues. Youth particularly need to learn how to prepare healthful food in appealing ways. This issue is especially important in food desert neighborhoods, where people are at the mercy of corner stores with a very limited selection of food items.

The solution is to recruit people who are already using community gardens to participate in a friendly cooking competition, that highlights how to prepare their produce. This event should be marketed to the larger community, with a special emphasis on involving children and families. Judging should include popularity among youths as a key criterion and organizers should make special efforts to reach out to immigrants who are growing cultural foods.

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