Operation Shoestring’s Healthy Eating Classes
Part of Operation Shoestring’s commitment to community health is ensuring that our programs like our parent workshops do not spread COVID-19. So, in order to carry out our monthly healthy eating class, we created our very own Shoestring drive-through restaurant in January! Parents picking up their children at the Shoestring building and at Walton Elementary School were treated to “skillet kale” and provided with bundles of the vegetable to take home and cook for their own families!
Many people in Jackson, including families in our neighborhoods, live in something called a “food desert.” This term refers to communities that have limited access to grocery stores or other places that sell produce and other healthy food items. In fact, more than two-thirds of Jacksonians currently reside in a food desert—which translates to worse health outcomes, and an overall reduced ability to live empowered lives where kids and families can thrive.
Operation Shoestring’s Healthy Eating classes are supported by the Parker Lifeshare Foundation, and include a partnership with an UMMC dietician. These classes are consistently rated by our parents as one of the family support workshops that they’d rank the highest in overall life impact. Many Shoestring family members say in participant assessments that one of their biggest needs is better health, and that our family support workshops help them in their attempts to eat better and to achieve improved physical fitness.
“We always have a great turnout for our Healthy Eating classes,” says Community Mobilization Coordinator Tolanda Jones. “I think it’s because we provide access for families when they typically couldn’t have had it otherwise—both in terms of time and in resources.”
Parent Coordinator Star Pool agrees. “What I think stops a lot of parents in our program from eating healthily is a lack of access and their overall mindset.” That’s why it’s important for her not only to provide healthy produce and exciting cooking recipes, but to also assist parents in making personal and emotional connections to improve their eating habits.
“I think mindset can affect a parent’s eating because they have so many pressures on them. The pandemic has increased those pressures as well.” Pool wanted to find a way to make her drive-through healthy eating class still meaningful to parents despite not being able to gather to eat together.
“I really wanted to do a healthy eating class focused on kale because greens are a big part of African American culture. Kale can be cooked into greens! A big part of our healthy eating classes is identifying things our parents love and making a healthier version of it together.”
Operation Shoestring works with community partners like FootPrint Farms to ensure our neighbors have access to fresh produce and to opportunities to become familiar with cooking these ingredients in a healthy manner. Every parent said they loved the sauteed kale, and would try it again! As one Shoestring parent said:
“I love this recipe! I wish I had a hundred pounds of kale to make this all the time!”
The taste test even changed some parents’ perspectives about kale itself! You can try the kale recipe Shoestring parents tasted too! Just follow the recipe below!
Easy Skillet Kale
Ingredients: 2 bunches of kale, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 3 sliced cloves of garlic, 1 pinch of red pepper, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of black pepper, 1 lemon.
- Wash and chop kale.
- Heat oil in a pan on medium high and add all seasonings when hot. Let seasonings cook for one minute.
- Add the kale to the pan and stir uncovered for two minutes. Cover kale and then cook for another five minutes.
- Add the juice of the lemon on top and serve.