"Honest Hope is Movement"

Whenever asked what I am doing for the year in AmeriCorps as a Health Promoter, my response begins with the startling current conditions of the health of this generation. One of the most  disturbing predictions, especially for the parents whose children are included in this statistic, is that the Center for Disease Control calculates that one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop type II diabetes in his or her life time, two out of five Latino children. When doing outreach in the community I say to mothers with whom I speak that this prediction does not have to become our reality- and this is why we are inviting you to participate in Cocinas Sanas- because as women we have the power to influence the health of our families and communities.

What we are asking of these women is to alter the current predicted fate of their children and their current food system. We are asking the women to become part of a food sovereignty movement – a task that seems too large to fathom. As Frances Moore Lappe writes in Hope’s Edge: the next Diet for a small Planet: “we humans can’t do what we can’t imagine and we can’t imagine ourselves playing real, satisfying roles in creating  life-serving communities- what[I] came to call ‘living democracy’- unless we see regular people like ourselves developing their power, their capacity to create.” Thus in order for these women to become empowered, they must see living examples that this effecting change is possible- this is the idea of a Promatora.

Monica and I began our journey as Health Promoters (Promatoras de Salud) in September. The work of a Promatora de Salud is to circulate that which she has learned about her health to other women. Then these women will in turn spread this information to their families, friends and communities engendering change. We started by collecting information on food- learning about where our food comes from, who is responsible for raising or growing it, how it is raised or grown and how this food affects our health. As we each processed this information, we began to formulate how we would take this information into account in our own lives, and how we would incorporate it into the Healthy Kitchens (Cocinas Sanas) classes. After sometime learning about CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) and how meat is raised my fellow Promatora, Monica has stopped eating meat. At the Cocinas Sanas (Healthy Kitchens) meal this inevitably comes up as a topic of discussion; all of the women are very curious as to why she has made this decision.  What I enjoy most about this is watching her tell the story of how she came to this conclusion and seeing the look on the women’s faces. I can never be certain, but within their expressions of intrigue I detect a hint of hope. Hearing the stories of other women, such as Monica, who have made these changes to lead a healthier life, gives me hope that I will have the strength to do the same.

At our most recent workshop each of the four participating women present set a small attainable goal, to begin the movement toward a healthier community. One women aimed to begin eating fruits as snacks and another to begin serving a side of vegetables at dinner. We each planned to try this goal for two weeks and discuss what our challenges were when we meet next. What truly inspired me was to listen to each woman offer encouragement to the other and possible tips on how she could attain this goal. We each shared what motivates us to be well and although each story was quite different the theme was the same: the health of those we love. And so we each thought of these people and mustered our courage to “develop our power”, our “capacity to create” and hope that change is possible.  “Honest hope is movement”.

Cocinas Sanas serving up Albondigas

On November 3, fourteen people sat down to share a meal. All evening the room had been filled with the sounds of children playing games and women telling stories of their traditions and memories of food.
The smells, sounds and textures of a meal can evoke so many memories: when was the last time you ate this meal and with whom did you share it? While we chopped fresh herbs and vegetables, the women recounted their stories of who had taught them to cook and memories of learning to cook through trial and error.   One woman laughed telling the story of how her grandmother would shoo anyone away from the kitchen who was in a bad mood, stating that your grumpy attitude or “mala onda” would spoil the tamales. Throughout the room the laughter of the children playing making cookies could be heard. As the women prepared a traditional meal, albóndigas (a type of meat ball); the next generation created traditions of their own, shaping  a modified recipe of traditional Mexican Wedding cookies into faces with raisins for eyes, noses and Mohawk hair styles.
While the soup boiled the ladies sat and discussed the mission of the “Cocinas Sanas (Healthy Kitchens)” project: to maintain the knowledge of how to prepare traditional foods and sustain the health of the community. We hope to achieve this through collective cooking events such as this. The consensus among the woman was that as time passes people can begin to lose their traditions and memories, food available in the United States is less fresh and eating habits begin to change, which can lead to many health problems.  It is through arts of storytelling and cooking that we can preserve these traditions and memories of our grandmothers, mothers, aunts and all the women who have shaped our histories.
Each participant was asked to give feedback, share how she would like to see the mission carried out and how she herself would be able to further develop the project. It was interesting to hear that each woman had a slightly different recipe and way to prepare the meal. We are excited to continue a dialogue about traditional foods as the women share their stories and recipes. One woman remembered having large meals at her grandmother’s house, with all of the extended family present. She said “those are some of my fondest memories, and I know that my best memories will be sharing meals with my own children.”
Perhaps tonight we made a few new traditions as well as memories.  The next time I smell a waft of boiling potatoes, oregano, mint and onions, I will remember this night and the new relationships and traditions made.

I have never been the type to take a moment and think about where I come from and think about my culture. I would consider myself being part of that generation when our families arrived to the United States we lost some of our cultural roots and just let it happen. Working at Community to Community Development has been such an experience both challenging and rewarding. Being part of an amazing group of women at Community to Community has made me open my eyes and look at my life in a new perspective. Whether it may be me thinking about the foods I eat every day and where they come from, my rights as a human being and how I can help my community; Community to Community teaches me something new every day.  Not only has my time with the organization changed my perspective on life but has also helped me bond with my mother. Something my mother and I rarely do. My job at Community to Community is working on their Cocinas Sanas (Healthy Kitchens) project. The program is about empowering the Latina women in our community to make healthier eating choices for them and their family. My co-worker and I host collective meals with a group of women that we have met through our outreach. We cook together with the women and they share their stories about the foods and different methods of cooking they may have from where they come from. Personally I do not cook and I have a hard time understanding the cooking scene so I go to my mother a lot for help. She helps me put the recipes together then I come back and use that as a guide when working with the women. I’ve never really asked my mother about cooking or how to make something and, my mother is a great cook; she feeds our family well.

The first time I asked my mother for help on a recipe she was so surprised that I was asking. I was honest with her and told her it was for work, she might have been a little upset that it was not for my own interest but she was still happy to help.  I then went on and used that recipe to cook with the group of women. After that day, experiencing the hard work, dedication and the time that it takes to cook a meal I have looked at my mother so differently. I still continue to ask for her help but this time when I ask I am more interested in what she has to say. Our project recently got the opportunity to team up with Community to Community’s youth empowerment program, Raices Culturales (Cultural Roots). When the youth group meets my co-worker and I prepare the children’s lunches and then have a small group discussion on food. One day we planned on making chilaquiles for the children, ripped up tortilla pieces in enchilada sauce, sounds simple right; well not so simple for someone who does not cook. Once I again I asked my mother for help on putting the recipe together. Not only did I get the recipe but I also received a little story about this food. You see I have had chilaquiles with egg so when I asked my mother about when do I need to add the egg she looked at me and said chilaquiles don’t have egg. Now I was confused, were we talking about the same thing here? She then told me adding egg to the chilaquiles was something people started doing to “modernize” this food. She said “chilaquiles was something people made in the ranchos” (back in Mexico) when they did not have a lot to eat. They friend their tortillas lightly, blended some chilies, put them together and ate. If there was any at home they would also top them off with some chopped onion and queso fesco (Mexican cheese).
Here I am thinking the egg was the whole foundation for chilaquiles and wondering if I ever would have found that out if it weren’t for this opportunity Community to Community had given me of working with them. The story may be small for some people but and mean nothing but to me this story was a big deal. That moment with my mother will be a memory; she shared a little piece of our culture with me which I then had the opportunity to share with others. Coming into Community to Community I was not completely certain of what I was getting into. All I knew was I wanted to help people and help make a difference somewhere, little did I know they were going to be helping me and making a difference in me.