April 15, 2010 -

Contest website: http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/event/cookingupchange/2010/

CONGRATULATIONS to Y.O.U.T.H. Intern Ross Miguel and the S-keg Haicu Hu:g Team; Yvette Ventura and Zade Arnold for being selected one of three (out of hundreds!) finalists in the Cooking up Change 2010 Competition. They will be traveling to Detroit in May to compete against Minnesota and Milwaukee for the chance to have their recipe creations featured in High Schools across the United States.

Here’s the Press Release mentor/chef Mary Paganelli wrote for distribution. Download it as a PDF here or read it by scrolling below:

PRESS RELEASE 

Tohono O’odham Students Finalists in National Cooking Competition

Ross Miguel, Yvette Ventura and Zade Arnold, students at Baboquivari High School and members of Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA) Cooking Club have been selected as finalists in the 2010 Cooking up Change National Healthy Cooking Contest (www.cookingupchange.org). The Club was among hundreds of high school culinary programs and cooking clubs around the United States to submit entries to this prestigious contest.

For the contest, teams of high school and college students were challenged to create a healthy, great-tasting school meal that meets high nutrition standards, incorporates a local food item, draws from ingredients commonly available to food service, and can be easily prepared in a school kitchen.

Team members, under the mentorship of TOCA/Desert Rain Café Consulting Chef Mary Paganelli, created three healthy and delicious recipes: a Whole Wheat Tepary Bean and Spinach Quesadilla, Peanut Butter Cinnamon Yogurt Dip with Fresh Fruit and a Baby Spinach and Pear Salad with Carrot Vinaigrette.

The students from the Tohono O'odham Community Action Cooking Club, along with two other teams of finalists, will prepare their recipes for a prestigious panel of judges at the 5th National Farm to Cafeteria conference May 17 in Detroit, MI.  All student entries will help raise national awareness of the need for healthy, delicious school food, and give students the opportunity to be part of an important national dialogue.

The TOCA Cooking Club was formed to nurture High School students and youth interested in the culinary field, and supports Tohono O’odham Community Action’s (www.tocaonline.org) mission to reinvigorate health and culture on the Tohono O’odham Nation.  

CONTACT:

Mary Paganelli , TOCA, 520 383-4966

mlpaganelli@yahoo.com

for photos, interviews, additional details