Food Frontiers is a film released last year that features community efforts that help people access healthy food. The film is inspired by the fact that one in seven U.S. households doesn’t always know where their next meal will come from. We were honored to have our The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre® program included. Check out the whole film for free at the link above, or skip to minute 15:40 to start with The Happy Kitchen!

Here at SFC, we acknowledge that food insecurity exists in our community. We’re aware that food access also means having the skills and time to turn that food into something that a family will eat.

Food Frontiers highlights many of the ways that The Happy Kitchen supports participants who want to do just that. Our classes offer tips for healthy home cooking on a budget. Classes are led by community members who share their own stories as part of class.

We’d like to share a few highlights from this past fall:

• Because we’ve seen low-income families leaving Austin, we’ve offered classes in Round Rock, Elgin, Hutto, and Del Valle. The classes have filled up at record speeds, and typically have our lowest drop-out rates!

• During our summer series at Foundation Communities’ Homestead Oaks Apartments, we learned that families have access to a food pantry, but that one of the less popular items was brown rice. In the class, we shared a recipe for making brown rice and suggestions for using it, so families can feel more confident taking it home in the future.

• Our six-week series usually meets once a week, but Child Inc. recently asked us about doing the classes every other week to fit into their class schedule. We agreed to try it, and we’ve seen consistent attendance at these classes because we’re working around participants’ schedules, instead of asking them to work around ours.

Thanks to Food Frontiers for including us in their film, and thanks to our community partners who make it easier for families to get healthy, local food onto plates and into bellies!