Three Valley teens are turning their love of cooking into a recipe for good habits thanks to their organization called My Tasty Table.
“Trying to make a healthy version of what they normally eat is a good way to implement healthy eating,” said Aanvi Goel.
Over the past few months, 16-year-old Goel, 15-year-old Karina Koppikar and 14-year-old Riya Mehta have hosted free cooking classes for children from low-income families. The group hopes to empower them through nutrition.
“It can honestly be pivotal to what your day’s going to look like, what your grades are gonna look like,” said Koppikar.
Inside nonprofits like Homeward Bound in Phoenix, excited children dove in hands first, learning fun snack recipes that are healthy, inexpensive and easy to make.
“It was definitely trial and error. We didn’t really know what we were doing the first time,” said Koppikar, with a laugh.
“Once we started cooking, they really started to have fun and I think that really got them interested,” said Mehta.
The group quickly found their rhythm with the children making their own healthy granola bars.
They’ve now held multiple classes and expanded their recipes, hoping to change how these children look at food.
“We actually educate these kids on the importance of healthy eating and how to cook a meal for themselves with affordable ingredients,” said Mehta.
The project was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Dragon Kim Foundation to pay for leadership training and mentorship opportunities. One-on-one with nutritionists helps them to hone their menu.
“Linking us with a trusted nutritionist really answered a lot of the questions we were uncertain about,” said Goel.
Their hope is to expand the program over the summer to include meal kits, online cooking videos and even more in-person classes.