With their eyes on food justice, students in SUNY Old Westbury’s Community Action, Learning and Leadership (CALL) program designed a self-published online cookbook to support members of their community that are in need.
The project, developed by first-year students in Professor Bonnie Eannone’s and Professor Kenneth Brown’s sections of the Community Learning course, is entitled Cooking, Culture and Covid. The cookbook is a compilation of family recipes provided by students enrolled in the course. Each recipe represents a cultural significance that is described by the student. Embedded video invites readers into the cooking experience, and insets in the cookbook discuss food justice, the environment, nutrition, and mindfulness. These videos were provided by students in Professor Jessica Curran’s section of Community Learning, who were part of a Mindfulness community experience.
Access to the hyperlink for the cookbook will be available to all SUNY Old Westbury faculty and staff for a $5.00 donation. All proceeds will go to the Panther Food Pantry “to improve the quality of life among students, faculty, and staff on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury by providing access to food and other necessities for those in need.”
In a remote space, those community experiences created commune between first-year students, who have yet to experience on-campus life, and identify as members of the OW family.
This pilot of a community learning experience is expected to continue in the spring semester under a new thematic, with plans for a faculty cook-off fundraiser. In the future, students hope to webcast a campus cooking show. Stay tuned!
