Taking on food insecurity, one meal at a time
When COVID-19 sent the country into lockdown in 2020, Audrey Smallwood 鈥�27 and her friend Elias Rabine were high school students in Turlock, California. Both of their families were in the restaurant business, so they watched with great interest as renowned Spanish-American chef Jos茅 Andr茅s and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen made headlines by paying empty eateries across the nation to cook free take-out meals for community members in need.
鈥淲e were really inspired by his efforts, not only to combat food insecurity but also to alleviate the stress that restaurants were experiencing during the pandemic,鈥� recalled Smallwood, now a student at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. 鈥淲e got to thinking, how could we replicate what they were doing, but get youth involved doing it?鈥�
The answer turned out to be , a nonprofit Smallwood and Rabine founded in 2021. It began as a high school club where students prepared fresh meals under the guidance of professional chefs, and then delivered them to people in the community. To pay for ingredients, the group hosted fundraisers and applied for grants, but the kitchen space was free鈥攖he students had full access to Rabine鈥檚 family restaurant, First & Main, when it was otherwise closed to the public.
Kitchens for Change caught on quickly鈥攎ore than 100 students signed up to join in its first few months and membership has since surpassed 200 students across two chapters. Local news channels took notice, and midway through her freshman year at 涩里番下载, Smallwood received an exciting phone call: The Kelly Clarkson Show, a popular daytime television program hosted by the former American Idol winner herself, had booked Chef Andr茅s as a guest on an upcoming episode. Would Smallwood and Rabine like to join him?
Audrey Smallwood 鈥�27 and her friend Elias Rabine chatting with Chef Jos茅 Andr茅s and Kelly Clarkson.
鈥淲e got a four-day notice, so it was a very quick, stressful process,鈥� said Smallwood. 鈥淏ut we said, 鈥榊es, of course we鈥檙e down.鈥� It was really special for us . He鈥檚 the reason Kitchens for Change was founded."
Since she was a child, Smallwood has associated serving others with food. Her grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when Smallwood鈥檚 mother was six years old, and opened a Mexican restaurant called La Morenita. Later, Smallwood鈥檚 mother and sisters launched a spinoff establishment, La Mo, which became Smallwood鈥檚 second home. She remembers doing homework at empty tables, working the floor, and watching her mother give back in small but meaningful ways.
鈥淪he was always giving away a free cup of coffee to a homeless person or delivering a week鈥檚 worth of meals to a family who had lost someone,鈥� said Smallwood. 鈥淭hat really exemplified to me the power that food has to unite people.鈥�
Through Kitchens for Change, Smallwood and Rabine are working to eliminate as many barriers as possible to help hungry people access nutritious food. While First & Main remains their home base, students regularly prepare meals in the kitchen of the local homeless shelter, serving residents in the adjacent dining room. Every January, they prepare holiday meal boxes for fellow students who are struggling with food insecurity to take home to their families. And in November of 2021, when hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan were stationed at hotels in Turlock, Kitchens for Change partnered with the International Rescue Committee to cook them a traditional Afghan meal.
鈥淚t was my favorite project we鈥檝e done,鈥� recalled Smallwood. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 speak the same language as the people we were serving, but the expressions and smiles on their faces communicated to us the impact this one meal had.鈥�
Since arriving at 涩里番下载 in the fall, Smallwood has temporarily hung up her apron and assumed a leadership role with Kitchens for Change, joining the board of directors and overseeing organizational logistics from afar. Right now, her priority is increasing the consistency and frequency of meals produced by Turlock students, but eventually, she鈥檇 like to see the Kitchens for Change model emulated in high schools across the country. After her appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show, she now has a $10,000 donation from sponsor Conagra Brands to help make that happen, as well as the admiration of the man who inspired it all.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a magical, simple, powerful idea,鈥� said Chef Andr茅s of Kitchens for Change.聽鈥淭hey saw what they had around them and they did the most they could with what was at their disposal. It鈥檚 people like them that [make us believe that] yes, we can change America, we can improve America, we can change the world.鈥�