You would not think that serving a simple meal such as a bowl of beans would warrant a celebration, but in Salt River Schools (SRS), it does!
The students seem to enjoy seeing a familiar food item on their lunch tray, and beans are a family favorite in most Salt River homes. The children might not fully understand the importance of the tepary bean or the fact that it was a food their ancestors planted, harvested, and survived on; they know it tastes good. Participating in the Kitchen Creations Project has been an exciting venture because it gives SRS a more significant opportunity to educate the students on the nutritional value of our traditional foods, and with that education hopefully, will change, a change to eating more of the foods our elders, change to a healthier people.
Choosing healthy foods can change the course of our future to a healthier community, a community without diabetes, depending on medications, long lives without pain, and suffering diabetes and other diseases that plague our families.
This project has also inspired a sense of pride in the community, much like the students when they see a bowl of beans on their tray, it is a part of our himdag (way of life), and to be sharing it with others is a thing of value because we recognize the importance of sharing good food.