East African Women's Center - Building community for Somali and other East African Women and their Families

Ever since the Center’s family-style kitchen opened in 2006, it has been well used. It started with the“5th Day”/Living in America classes. (See Family Literacy/“5th Day”) The mothers were interested in including cooking and nutrition in the curriculum for their Friday sessions. Each week, the women spend part of their time cooking a “healthy meal” to share with their toddlers and preschoolers. Mothers experiment with new foods—especially vegetables. Girls started baking and the aroma of carrot cookies drifted through the Center. Best of all, even the youngest children started enjoying their broccoli!

During the summer of 2008, the Women Center received a wonderful opportunity. The Mill City Farmers Market asked us if we wanted organic produce that vendors did not sell. Each week, women from the Center go to the Market and pick up vegetables and bring them back to the Center to share with women from the community. Because many of the vegetables are unfamiliar to the women, cooking demonstrations and food trials have become part of the program. Foods that nobody had eaten before now are favorite foods.

Augsburg College offered another opportunity when they invited the Women’s Center to join their Community Garden. Although some of the women remember their families having gardens, most have never gardened before themselves.

In the past two years, start-up cooking activities have resulted in many learning experiences. Women who never used recipes are now cooking and baking with them.

One goal for cooking together is to introduce mothers to new foods — and help them to find interesting ways to prepare them that appeal to their families. Another is that cooking and eating together creates community.

Besides giving our community fresh, organic food from Minnesota, the managers and vendors at Mill City Farmer Market have become friends and mentors

Women and their children have the opportunity to try their hands at growing the food they cook. The Women’s Center has cared for garden plots in the Augsburg College Community Garden for the past two summers.