Fresno Metro Ministry aims to improve food insecurity with community garden, youth cooking classes

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno organization is taking action to address childhood hunger.

In 2022, Action News reported that Fresno Metro Ministry received a $2 million grant to improve access to healthy food.

The Central Valley is California's agricultural hub. However, many in the community go hungry.

According to officials, this food insecurity also leads to high levels of health disparities.

"We came up with the concept -- let's go in and do like the old days," said Emogene Nelson, Fresno Metro Ministry executive director. "Let's do cooking classes and teach about nutrition in that space."

Fresno Metro Ministry was one of two Fresno organizations awarded a grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures.

Since then, the organization has been able to bridge the gap in the local food system.

Starting beneath the soil, Fresno Unified students are learning to grow fruits and vegetables at the Yo'Ville Community Garden in southwest Fresno.

"They was also learning how to how to socialize with each other, how to partner with each other, how to communicate with each other. There was a sense of community," Nelson said.

The students are able to bring those fruits and veggies to the stove during the Cooking Matters program. It goes beyond cooking lessons by teaching kids how to grocery shop on a budget and the nutritional value of foods.

"Some parents that may have diabetes and different health issues," said program manager Jennifer R. "Then we're trying to break those things, making them aware of it and letting them know like, 'Hey, you can help your family out and you can also prevent yourself from getting those things as well.'"

That meal then makes its way from the stove to the students' stomachs, and many are surprised to learn that vegetables can be tasty.

"We're adding onions and we're adding bell peppers to there," Jennifer said. "So we got a lot of kids that said how much better our burgers are compared to In-N-Out or compared to McDonald's."

The grant has also allowed Fresno Metro Ministry to expand its Food to Share program, where they partner with schools or local retailers to rescue food that would have been wasted and give it to families in need.

The organization hopes to build off these efforts to help Fresno County become a healthier community.

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