For Those in Need, an Alliance Results in Healthier Food
05 April 2013Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles strikes meaningful collaboration with USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to reinvent nutritious recipes for food-pantry patrons.
More than six million U.S. households relied on emergency food from a food pantry one or more times in 20111, and with a limited choice of fare, many food-pantry patrons could benefit from suggestions on how to prepare the items they receive, especially fresh produce. Chef instructors at Le Cordon Bleu in L.A. have partnered with the University of Southern California to contribute their culinary expertise and develop new recipes that make produce less intimidating for the novice cook.
To help arm food-pantry patrons with the necessary information to cook fresh fruits and vegetables to create a healthy meal, chef instructors at LCB in L.A. worked together to craft 60 new recipes and modify a list of 200 easily prepared recipes that feature fresh produce. These efforts are part of a University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg research program known as Quick! Help for Meals. The recipes are designed for clients of food pantries to provide suggestions on how to prepare the food they receive.
The Quick! Help for Meals program was developed to make nutritious cooking more accessible for those who rely on food banks. The system provides participants with a customized booklet featuring recipes and instructions using vegetables and other ingredients that food banks often supply. Each pantry client receives an individualized booklet with only recipes and tips that align with his or her household’s tastes and needs. Thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USC is also currently expanding the program by creating a mobile application based on the existing “Quick! Help” cooking booklet. This mobile application will feature the newly modified and 60 brand-new recipes from LCB in L.A. instructors.
LCB in L.A. Executive Chef Lachlan Sands has led the update of the more than 200 recipes by the campus’ chef instructors. Many culinary experts volunteered their time to revamp the existing recipes by clarifying instructions and adding bold, new flavors, in addition to developing new dishes.
“We believe this project will broaden people’s understanding of how vegetables can be used to anchor one-dish meals,” Sands says. “Whether it’s combining them with meats or turning them into soups, the list is endless. At Le Cordon Bleu, we teach our students the importance of using their skills to give back to the community, and the chef instructors have set a fantastic example with this program.”
On March 2, LCB in L.A. students had the chance to get involved by preparing 60 new recipes to be added to the “Quick! Help” recipe database and mobile application. Throughout the day, each dish was tasted, modified as needed and photographed to be added to the Quick! Help mobile application.
“Oftentimes, the work chefs put into a dish is gone as soon as guests are served,” says Tony Bondi, campus president of LCB in L.A. “This program provides an opportunity for our chef instructors to make a meaningful impact on those who rely on food pantries.”
During their 20 years of work on the Quick! Help for Meals program, Susan Evans and Peter Clarke, USC Annenberg professors, have helped integrate fresh produce into 156 food banks across the nation. Now, they hope to encourage the use of produce and these recipes so everyone can easily enjoy a wholesome and appetizing meal.
“There are so many people around the country who rely on food pantries,” says Evans. “To many, green beans are exotic, cauliflower is a mystery and even carrots are a challenge, beyond shredding or boiling. The chef instructors at Le Cordon Bleu have been instrumental in updating and creating new recipes that make fresh produce unintimidating and delicious.”
With an overarching goal to bring healthy eating to more people, USC Annenberg and the chef instructors of LCB in L.A. look forward to testing the mobile application next autumn.
Le Cordon Bleu, with a network of 16 schools in the United States, is a member of the Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO) network of universities, colleges and schools. For more information, visit www.Chefs.edu.
1http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx
Photo(l. to r.): Chef Lachlan Sands of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles; professors Susan Evans and Peter Clarke of USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.