Promote health in 100 teens in Portland, Oregon

Just before summer break, one group of MIKE youth wanted to test their fate in the kitchen. Inspired by the many cooking shows streaming on their phones and computers, the youth thought it would be fun to combine the intrigue of cooking with their school health project.

The group of ninth graders from De La Salle North Catholic High School in Portland outlined their ideas to their mentor for a presentation at a local elementary school. He liked the idea, saying it supported MIKE’s focus on healthy snacks.

When asked what they planned to share, the team unanimously selected one of their favorite MIKE snacks—a rice cake topped with sunflower seed butter and sliced bananas. Sandra, one of the teens in the group, says the combination was the most popular in her class and would be easy to prepare.

On their presentation day, the youth and their mentor Jimmy navigated their way to Faubion School, carrying bags filled with rice cakes, bananas and jars of sunflower seed butter. Jimmy surprised the teens with some paper chef hats and aprons.

After they arrived at the school, the teens gleefully strapped on the aprons and attached the chef hats. A classroom of second graders greeted them with “oohs” and “aahs,” sharing hushed questions with their classmates.

The team stood in front of the classroom and began to pull out the ingredients for their culinary presentation. Sandra explained how bananas were a good source of potassium. As she held up the rice cake, she described how one of the minerals in the dry circular cake offers manganese, which helps manage metabolism. One of the young students asked if that was good. Sandra decided to keep it simple. “Yes, that’s good,” she responded with a smile.

Many of their younger peers were curious about the sunflower seed butter. The teens had to coax a few of the second graders to try the unfamiliar spread. “It’s like peanut butter,” Sandra’s teammate Kennedy offered. His description was enough to encourage the second graders to try it. “It is!” one of them exclaimed after taking a bite. The sounds of “yum” confirmed the classroom’s approval. Kennedy explained how the alternative spread is a good option, especially for anyone with nut allergies.

After the teens finished their presentation and headed back to school, Jimmy asked how the felt about their efforts. “It was a lot of fun to take my favorite part of MIKE—the snacks—and teach how to make them with the little kids,” said Sandra. Her teammates agreed.

These interactions between MIKE teens and their younger peers help build community engagement and promote overall healthy behaviors. Your support has a direct impact in providing MIKE teens with the resources and opportunities to improve health within their communities.

Links:

• MIKE Program website