We’re pleased to announce that we’ve been awarded a grant from Austin Fresh to fund our popular Chiquitos in the Kitchen program for two years! Austin Fresh is a one-million dollar annual fund by The Builders Initiative, The Christopher Family Foundation, and The Lumpkin Family Foundation. They set out to work collaboratively to expand healthy retail options, support community gardens and local food production, grow food enterprises, and protect and strengthen food assistance programs in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. We are one of seven grantees in Austin. Learn more about Austin Fresh and the other grantees here.
Chiquitos in the Kitchen (CIK) is a cooking and gardening program to empower students in Austin to engage with food creatively and sustainably in the garden, kitchen, around the table, and in the community. We piloted this program to huge success in summer 2020 thanks to the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, and now that work will continue year-round for at least the next two years!
Each week, students will receive boxes with ingredients and supplies to grow simple food at home. We’ll post instructional videos for cooking, gardening, and learning more about where food and recipes comes from. Each week, students will have a live video check-in with instructors. When it’s safe to do so, we’ll resume in-person learning and gardening on-site at The Revive Center.
We’re excited to bring back Mary-Beth Johnson as the lead instructor for this program and partner with other growers and chefs in Austin and beyond to teach our students. Mary-Beth feels most at home in a kitchen, sharing a full spectrum concept on food—from where our food comes from, who local growers are, the historical implications of foods from different cultures, and of course, the skills and techniques that help us build flavor. She hopes to engage students of all ages to think about food critically as well as embrace and celebrate the unique eating cultures that everyone brings to the table.
The spring session of CIK will begin in March 2021 for eight weeks with a cohort of students in 4th-6th grades and another for students in 7th-10th grades called Juntos at the Table. Enrollment for Chiquitos in the Kitchen and Juntos at the Table will prioritize students living or going to school in Austin (zip codes 60651 and 60639) and be by referral only. If you’d like to volunteer to help out with Chiquitos in the Kitchen or Juntos at the Table, please contact Erica Martinez, GAPAdemics After School Program Director, at erica@gapcommunitycenter.org.