FRANKLIN, Wis. – The Hunger Task Force is hoping to get members of the Milwaukee area’s Hmong community focused on healthy eating and they're counting on early intervention to make that happen.
The group began running the final summer installment of their “Cooking with Culture” initiative Monday, which offered kids a chance to harvest their own vegetables and cook their own meals.
“They are sponges,” group child nutrition educator Melanie Foland said. “They are just taking in all of this information so it’s so important that we are reaching them while they’re at a young age.”
Hunger Task Force Community Nutrition Program Manager Ashley Best said the group decided to focus on the Hmong community after recognizing they were more at risk for certain preventable diseases.
“We realized that there is a severe need for nutrition education within the Hmong community,” she explained. “With large populations here in Milwaukee we are seeing more diseases such as diabetes, heart-related diseases, which are all related to dietary concerns.”
Best said the group partnered with the Hmong American Peace Academy, a Milwaukee Public Schools charter school, to reach out to some of the Hmong community’s youngest members.
The two-week program is expected to return next summer. During the school year, the Hunger Task Force will continue their nutrition education programs at MPS which serve about 150 students annually.
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