Introducing SFC’s First Cooking & Nutrition Class Celebrating Black Foodways

By Jacq Taylor, The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® Education Specialist  and Anna-Kay Reeves, Multimedia Communications Specialist

A special thanks to the team who developed the “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” curriculum: Jacqueline Taylor, Vanessa Beltran, MPH, RDN, LD, and Joi Chevalier, BA, MA, CCA and Chair of the Austin Travis County Food Policy Board, as well as Catherine Capers, M.Ed. and Marilyn Yank

The Best Thing Since Sweet Cornbread

“What’s the Soul in Our Food?” is a fresh-out-of-the-oven community and nutrition cooking and nutrition education class designed by Black Texans for Black Texans. Like other courses from the The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® (THK/LCA®) program, “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” is a free 6-week cooking and nutrition education course. Participants come together for a weekly nutrition lesson, a cooking demonstration featuring seasonal ingredients, and receive groceries to practice the skills they’ve learned at home. 

What makes this course unique is that Sustainable Food Center (SFC) developed “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” in partnership with 10 community organizations. Why so many cooks in the kitchen? These partnerships were important to ensure “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” is a community-based cooking and nutrition education course that reflects the history and priorities of Black Texans as defined by Black communities themselves. To that end, we plan to update this course based on participant feedback on an ongoing basis.

The rich and adaptable course curriculum is the result of the ongoing leadership, feedback, and support of Black Men’s Health Clinic, The Alliance for African American Health Central Texas (AAAHCT), Austin Public Health, Black Mamas ATX, Ufulu Child LLC, Foundation Communities, Saint John Faith Community Garden, Equidad ATX, and Black Trans Leadership Austin. We’re grateful for the dedication of these organizations to transforming health through culturally-relevant nutrition!

We believe everyone deserves access to fresh, local food and culturally-relevant nutrition.

THK / LCA® started over 25 years ago with a focus on offering bilingual (English and Spanish) cooking and nutrition education. Thanks to funding from supporters like Episcopal Health Foundation, we’re ready to expand THK / LCA® to reflect the many cultures of our state. With 14% of Texans identifying as Black, Texas is home to more Black people than any other US state. Black Texans are less likely to have insurance or have access to health care than white Texans. This inequality makes preventative care through nutrition a particularly important resource for Black communities.

“What’s the Soul in Our Food?”: Celebrating Black Culture Through Food and Nutrition

Soul food is a catch-all term for primarily Black and historically southern cooking. During “What’s the Soul in Our Food?”, facilitators invite participants to consider what makes a dish soul food. Unlike cuisine associated with a single country, like Thai food for example, soul food includes influences from across Africa and uniquely American flavors. To paraphrase culinary scholar Micheal W. Twitty, soul food is rooted in the creativity of Africans brought to the US who reimagined dishes from home with the ingredients available to them. Available ingredients were often meat scraps and whatever Black communities were able to grow in their garden. 

African Diaspora (n.): Black and Brown people with African ancestry distributed across the globe.

Considering soul food’s rich history, there are many right answers to the question “What’s the Soul in Our Food?”. Sharing family recipes and memories of elders cooking is one way each class will celebrate Black food and history. Facilitators will also offer food for thought from culinary scholars. One important resource to understand soul food for the “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” authors is High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris. Harris offers the perspective that Black foodways in the US “came to be known as soul food because it fed the spirit as much as the body on our long march to institutionalized equality.

Can Soul Food Be Nutritious?

People think of soul food as unhealthy, but it doesn’t have to be. “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” participants will learn about The Happy Plate, a THK / LCA® cooking nutrition education model for eating balanced meals. The Happy Plate is half fruits and vegetables, one quarter protein, and one quarter grains. A Happy Plate of soul food might include cooked leafy greens, catfish or other seafood that is baked or grilled rather than fried, and a side of grains like rice or millet or a starchy vegetable like roasted sweet potatoes. The Happy Plate isn’t always a plate; a bowl of stew served alongside rice or fufu (pounded yam) checks all the boxes, too!

To enjoy healthy soul food, we bring awareness to three key aspects of meal preparation:

• Seasoning dishes with herbs and dried spices instead of salt 
• Using minimal fats and oils 
• Including fresh and cooked fruits and vegetables as the star of the show with meat for flavor

Let’s Embody a Better World

Health and wellness goes beyond nutrition – how safe and relaxed we feel also impacts our health. Black communities face higher levels of stress and diet-related illnesses due to structural racism in the past and present. Historic and modern racism limits Black folks’ equal access to social determinants of health like nutritious food, earning opportunities, health insurance, secure housing, and transportation. Despite these injustices, Black food, culture, and community are life-giving.

Embodiment (n.) A mindfulness practice that promotes awareness of and connection to your body by focusing on the senses

Class participants will learn about mindfulness practices like embodiment to promote feelings of safety and relaxation. By bringing awareness to our five senses while cooking, we can relax our body and mind while preparing a nourishing meal. Being in tune with the senses is also a reminder of the space we take up and deserve to take up. Our senses say: “You’re here!”

Wisdom from the Past: Honoring Black History

Working toward healing the impacts of racism isn’t about ignoring painful parts of history. “What’s the Soul in Our Food?” curriculum notes, “our West African ancestors were prolific producers of food. They were not only enslaved for their labor; they were enslaved for their expertise in agriculture (namely corn, yams, and rice) and raising animals.” 

Of course, that expertise didn’t stop at production. We see African food preparation traditions in soul food’s use of ingredients like rice, okra, and sweet potatoes. (Sweet potatoes are an American substitute for African yams.) We can also see traces of Africa in beloved dishes throughout the Americas (North, Central, and South). This influence reminds us that the culinary impact of the African diaspora is often hidden in plain sight.” “What’s the Soul in Our Food?”’s focus on stories and recipes passed through generations celebrates the expertise of Black people as cultivators and cooks long before they were forced into those roles in the Americas.

What’s Cooking for THK / LCA®

Every THK / LCA® facilitator shares themselves with their community. Each class series has three passionate facilitators that rotate between the cook, educator, and assistant role during the six weeks. All THK/LCA® community cooking and nutrition education class facilitators are peer-facilitators because they

1. Have attended a THK / LCA® class series
2. Are impacted by the class and inspired to become a facilitator
3. Are trained on our program and curriculum with adult education principles 

Photo by H. Franks

These three pieces are essential to hosting community-based cooking and nutrition education classes where participants feel seen and safe enough to bring what they care about to the table.

As THK / LCA® programming expands, it’s our goal to make classes accessible to the folks who need them most. In the case of “What’s the Soul in Our Food?”, this class is exclusively open to Black folks. THK / LCA® offers a variety of classes designed to support specific communities. Whether it’s “Cooking After Cancer, “Eating Well With Diabetes”, or “La Cocina Alegre”, our original Spanish-language adaptation, THK / LCA® has a class to equip you with the knowledge and skills best-suited to your health and community needs.

Want to see more kitchens full of local produce? You can support THK/LCA® by donating to SFC or partnering with us to host a class. Email education@sustainablefoodcenter.org to connect with our team. You can also call the bilingual (English/Spanish) SFC Help Desk at (512) 730-1807 to ask about upcoming classes near you