Record Special Article
GreenRoots is excited to announce the full opening of its new Teaching Kitchen on Pearl Street in Chelsea. The community was involved throughout the entire process of bringing the kitchen to fruition. Community members came up with the original idea and vision, and dozens of residents were involved in the final design, program development and more. GreenRoots will officially launch the program in the spring of 2024 and welcomes Joanna “JoJo” Emerson as Teaching Kitchen Coordinator. JoJo embodies GreenRoots' goal of combining health and nutrition with culinary skills.
Trained as a chef with a Masters in Public Health, JoJo designs and implements programs focused on creating nutritious meals while building community and sharing culture. GreenRoots regularly hosts cooking and baking classes in the Teaching Kitchen, where together we have made dishes such as crispy tofu, homemade soup stock, and vegetable-filled focaccia. We have also hosted sessions covering cooking techniques such as how to cook eggs and the science of baking. Other conversations have included topics such as herbology and cooking to relieve asthma symptoms. We also host special classes that share healthy cooking tips and focus on how to eat healthy given specific dietary restrictions and health concerns such as diabetes and high blood pressure. And of course, everyone can enjoy our delicious food. “It's wonderful to see a community naturally build within the Teaching Kitchen and among the people who come to our events and classes. “The community has really made this space their own, and everyone is so excited to get involved and contribute to what this place will become,” said JoJo Emerson, GreenRoots Teaching Kitchen Coordinator. Our approach to programming at the Teaching Kitchen has always been to keep the community at the center, hosting sessions that are inspiring and relevant to those who live and work in Chelsea and East Boston. Each class at the Teaching Kitchen has a connection to food justice and food security and how we work together to ensure everyone in our community has access to the nutritious food they need and deserve. Another great element of the GreenRoots Kitchen is watching the fostering of relationships blossom into new programs. In collaboration with North Suffolk Mental Health, we are hosting a class on basic cooking techniques for people struggling with mental health issues. This summer, we are partnering with Community Connections to host a workshop on women's health and nutrition. We are also working with the Chelsea Senior Center to host weekly classes on health, nutrition, and sharing culturally relevant recipes. Each of these curricula designed by GreenRoots are designed specifically with our audience in mind to be relevant and appealing to a particular group. This summer is full of exciting and delicious programs. We plan to start regular weekend classes to make our programs accessible to all community members. Local chefs will also host their favorite dishes and cooking demonstrations. These include a traditional Jewish cooking class with Ellen Rovner on June 25th from 5:30pm to 7pm and a Somali cooking session with Yahya Noor on July 12th from 6pm to 8pm. Our kitchen will be a space where our community can share history, stories and culture through food. We hope to start a weekly community recipe sharing group where community members can share traditions and cook their favorite recipes with their neighbors. In our teaching kitchen, everyone is welcome to join our classes. From those who have never held a knife to master chefs, GreenRoots welcomes you to join us. With the support of our generous funders and donors, we aim to make all sessions free or low-cost. We hope you will join us! Check the GreenRoots website for upcoming classes: https://greenrootsej.org/get-involved/events
