7:45: Hop on my bike and head over to the Pecan Park Elementary School.

8:00: Sign-in at the main office. If it’s not too busy, say hello to the office staff, telling them the weather isn’t too cold to bike…if you’re from up north (they won’t believe you). Organize the materials for the day’s lessons.

8:30: Teach two kindergarten seasons lessons. We will talk about how the seasons are cyclical, so next time, I will be able to use the seasons cycle to teach a lesson on patterns.

9:30: Take a break. Check my emails and get ready for another double-header. I already know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry; this is my busiest teaching day.

10:00: Teach two 2nd grade compost lessons from Do the Rot Thing. We will talk about all of the materials that go to landfills and relate composting to recycling.

11:00: Go outside and work on the garden. I try to get out there when I think some of my kids will have recess. If they do, have a few of them come over. It’s like a free class with them and they like it SO MUCH.

12:30: Depending on how ambitious I am, I might take a working lunch and check a few more emails. If not, chill.

1:00: Go back inside and work on the follow up lesson plans.

2:30: Hop back on my wheels and head over to my service site, Cooperative Community of New West Jackson, to work on the Folk Garden’s new raised beds.

4:30 or 5:00: Take one last ride, this time to my apartment, passing by Roger or a few other kids from school playing outside…Or maybe I might just drop my stuff off and head to Fondren After 5, in Jackson’s Fondren neighborhood, for dinner, music and a little art.

The post A Day in the Life appeared first on FoodCorps.

“Mr. Ware, I would have liked the kale…

…if there weren’t any bugs on it when I ate it.”

NOTE TO SELF: make sure the aphids are removed thoroughly before serving them.

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Damiyah: …

Me: It starts with an “in…”

Damiyah: “Nasty?”

Me: “Interesting.” The word you say is “interesting.”

It’s Friday. 

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In fact, many of the students I teach are prone to pickiness. They have additional sensory challenges related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that make eating certain foods difficult. For example, one of my kindergarten students, Jacob, refuses to eat anything outside of the scheduled snack time or lunch hour, and will throw any unfamiliar food from his plate onto the floor. His teachers and I are working on how to integrate a garden snack during his regular snack time, pairing a new food like grated cabbage salad, with a familiar brand of crackers, a food that falls within his comfort zone.

Like Jacob, about one in 68 children nationwide deal with the challenges of autism, an increasingly prevalent developmental disability. A recent research study showed that children with ASD are five times more likely to have mealtime challenges, such as tantrums, extreme food selectivity and ritualistic eating behaviors. They may refuse to eat one or more food groups (often preferring carbohydrates), accepting only foods with certain textures, flavors or colors. They may even gag when trying new foods or display anxiety over the presence of foods on their plate. One parent explained to me that her son only likes to eat white foods with soft textures, like mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and some cereals. In order for him to get the proper nutrition, she juices fruits and vegetables and serves them in a covered cup that hides the color. Even if a child doesn’t have a sensory disorder, he may show a preference for consistency during mealtimes, only eating a specific brand of yogurt and drinking a certain type of juice box, for example.

Chronic eating problems increase a child’s risk for poor academic performance, social problems and diet-related diseases such as obesity and adolescent heart disease. Inadequate nutrition is more common among children with autism, in particular low intakes of calcium and protein. So, despite challenges, it’s just as imperative to introduce children with ASD to a variety of nutrient-dense foods. Luckily, there are a variety of strategies that parents and teachers can use to encourage these children to try new things.

Last week, I led my first cooking class for parents called “Cooking Healthy Meals for Picky Eaters.” While we prepared a healthy snack, dinner, and dessert, we shared some mealtime strategies for picky eaters, including children with autism-related sensitivities. One of the most important general guidelines is just practicing patience and calmness. Most children need to try foods over a dozen times before they are willing to eat it. Children with ASD may take an even longer time to warm up to a new food. I constantly remind myself of this when I hold tastings in class—even if they refuse to eat it, exposing students to a sweet potato is one step closer to them eating it.

Also, creativity when preparing a meal can help sidestep texture-related food aversions. One parent noted that her child has problems with chunky tomatoes in spaghetti sauce. For her, a simple fix is to puree the sauce to make it smooth. We talked about the possibility of even adding in pureed greens or sweet potatoes to up the nutritional content.

Talking about the food’s texture—touching it, smelling it, examining it—before actually tasting can also reduce some of the stress around eating the food. During one class, the students and I harvested broccoli from the garden, some of which had just begun to flower. Before we even approached tasting, we talked about plant parts, and how the part that people like to eat (the broccoli floret) is actually a flower. Looking at the vegetable in a different context made it seem more approachable, and most students were willing to give it a try.

Another parent noted that her child is more likely to eat things that are accompanied by a familiar dip, like ranch dressing. Including familiar items on the plate along with new foods can lower a child’s anxiety about trying a new vegetable. In our cooking class, we made a healthier version of ranch for dipping sliced carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, etc. (You can find the recipe here!). Allowing a child to choose which vegetable he or she wants to put in the dip will give him some control over what he or she eats, decreasing some of the food-related stress.

Sometimes, it may even be necessary to “hide” vegetables or healthy ingredients in a picky eater’s meal, a technique popularized by the books Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef. Macaroni and cheese with pureed butternut squash, blueberry muffins with mashed banana and chick peas are some examples of sneakily nutritious, but familiar foods. The dessert we made in our cooking class fell along this theme: ABC (Avocado Banana Cocoa) Pudding with natural sweetener.

In the long run, continually exposing children with ASD to new foods through meal planning and cooking together, gardening, and playing food-related games can help expand their palate and establish healthy eating habits. Praising a child’s successes in taking risks at the table, even seemingly small ones, like just touching the food to his or her chin or lips, is important. Because for children with ASD, the first bite of a radish or whole wheat bread or a baked sweet potato can be a scary experience, but it can also be an important step on a lifelong journey of health and wellbeing.

The post The First Bite: Encouraging Eaters with Autism Spectrum Disorder appeared first on FoodCorps.

Another FoodCorps Mississippi service member (who is also now one of my closest friends, like many of the service members have become), told me she had grown up hearing those three words: “Yeah I know that phrase! ‘There are two things we should give our children: one is roots and the other is wings.’” I loved hearing the complete phrase that way. I felt like that’s what my parents had done, and I feel like that’s what I’ve come here with FoodCorps to do — to help kids in Mississippi grow their own roots and wings.

As a FoodCorps service member, hosted by Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity, I teach kids in West Jackson about what healthy food is and where it comes from, build and tend school gardens where they can grow that healthy food themselves, and try to help school cafeterias serve and celebrate healthy food on the lunch line. I strive to plant seeds of knowledge in my students’ minds, to help them engage with this knowledge and nurture it continually, so that it can grow and take root. As these roots of knowledge absorb more and more information and experiences, my hope is that their knowledge will bloom: that  they will be intrinsically motivated to stay healthy and connected to real food throughout their lifetimes, and see their doing so as an important and achievable goal. Eventually, a flower that has bloomed sends out seeds of its own, almost as if it has grown to have wings (if you have ever seen the wonder in a child’s eyes when they get to the last page of “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle, or blow on a dandelion, you have witnessed what I’m trying to describe). And I believe every kid has these wings already, even if they don’t always know it or haven’t had opportunities to spread them.

It can be very difficult not to romanticize the work of FoodCorps, but in my eyes this work is sort of romantic. It is about falling in love. With nature, with soil, with silly songs and dancing, with kids, with the state you’re serving in, with the people you’re surrounded by, and with real food. Sure, there is plenty of red tape in the food system and tons of room for improvement, and there are certainly days as a service member filled with frustration about the public education system, or fire ant bites, or a child in your class misbehaving or disliking a food you’re excited to share with them. And although there are these many setbacks in the neighborhoods I serve in for even the most motivated child or adult to be able to eat enough fruits and vegetables on a regular basis (West Jackson is almost entirely considered a food desert, which I have witnessed firsthand), I believe that part of my responsibility as a service member is to avoid getting overly discouraged. For every discouraging moment, I have easily been able to find ten encouraging and positive ones. The growth we are trying to see requires a lot of patience (just like gardening!), but most kids I have worked with this year are thrilled to go out in the garden, to try new things, to ask brilliant and insightful questions. I think kids naturally want to experience things with all five of their senses, and the garden provides the perfect environment for that.

One huge advantage we have is that the food from a school garden then sort of sells itself. Once you connect kids to a garden and show them how food grows, they are naturally drawn in and interested by the growing process, eager to help plants grow, and curious enough to taste the resulting fruits, veggies and herbs. In fact, I’ve had whole classes beg me to let them eat raw green onions straight out of the ground, or take a bite of raw pumpkin, or chew on all of the mint leaves in sight! People often assume kids won’t want to try new foods or get excited about eating a vegetable, and I like giving my students a chance to prove these people wrong.

Mississippi may have a reputation for being the least healthy state, but I think people’s spirits here are some of the healthiest. It is a natural fit to try and connect kids to real food here, because people here are already so good at connecting to each other. Yes, there are plenty of issues. Yes, racial tension exists. Yes, there is crime. Yes, Jackson has experienced all sorts of deterioration, neglect, and economic flight over the past fifty years. But, since moving here, I have never felt unsafe or pessimistic about Mississippi’s future. I feel invigorated, needed, challenged, and tested, but never truly pessimistic.

In fact, my eyes have been opened to a very hopeful Mississippi, one that is hard to find on a news station or on the internet. One that is full of thoughtful, hard-working people, brilliant artists and progressive politicians, and plenty of people who are here because they believe in a healthier Mississippi and are willing to put in the work to help it get there. I believe the potential is limitless, especially when it comes to this state’s food system. We have fertile soil, a long growing season, amazing gardeners and farmers throughout the state, and kids who – while they and their families don’t often have access to enough real food – are excited to grow it and to try it when it is available to them. I believe Mississippi is full of roots and full of wings.

While I hope I am making a real impact and difference here, helping give my students both roots and wings, I also feel grateful for the way that FoodCorps has helped me to grow: to become both more connected to everything in my life, and more aware of my potential. Through the many different forms of training and support I have received, the challenges of my service have become approachable and I have remained excited and optimistic. I feel both supported and free to tailor my service to my strengths, passions, and overall personality (from how I design my school gardens to which lessons I teach my kids). Jackson and Mississippi as a whole – its people, music, traditions, history, progress, and pace of life – have also given me this growth. My own roots and wings have both certainly expanded. And if you come here and witness it all for yourself, you’ll grow in both directions, too.

Interested in becoming a FoodCorps service member? Applications for the 2014-15 service year are open through March 30, 2014. Apply now!

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