From fire camp to cooking classes, California students thrive in summer programs
Courtesy of Lunch Bunch
Compton Unified School District students participate in a summer cooking class offered by Lunch Bunch.
It’s hardly your typical school lunch. This summer, students in 18 elementary and middle schools in the Compton Unified School District gathered three times a week in classrooms transformed into makeshift kitchens to help make dishes reflecting the region’s ethnic and cultural diversity — among them Salvadoran pupusas, Thai soup, sushi, pizza, or just plain grilled cheese and tomato soup.
They’re enrolled in Lunch Bunch, one of over a dozen summer enrichment programs offered by Compton Unified to students tuition-free, with support from the state’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.
On the Lunch Bunch menu this week: scallion pancakes; a “garden delight” crudité of fresh vegetables; and nut-free Dubai chocolate strawberry cups, a Compton favorite, said Natasha Case, Lunch Bunch’s founder.
To assemble the meals, Lunch Bunch staff turn classrooms into portable kitchens, bringing with them electric frying pans, electric burners and plug-in blenders. Food has been preprepared in a central facility in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake district, a half hour away.
Students wear aprons with the brightly colored Lunch Bunch logo on the front. They can eat what they make, take it home with them or use the recipe to cook the dish at home with their families. Usually, said Case, “they eat it right there (in the classroom) because they are so excited to taste their own creation.”
The cooking classes, soon to be offered in 20 Southern California districts, mesh easily with core subjects in the regular school curriculum, Case explains.
Students learn about math concepts like fractions (through measuring, for example), science (how and why foods cook at different temperatures) and history (the origins of different dishes). Students also learn social-emotional skills like collaboration, communication and leadership, as well as an essential life skill: cleaning up their cooking areas after each class.
However, “we always want them to understand the big picture behind the lesson in a really fun and creative way that doesn’t feel burdensome and academic,” Case said.
Summer programs like these have been especially important during a stressful time for many families due to federal immigration threats in this heavily Latino district. As a result, said Jennifer Moon, Compton Unified’s executive director of educational services, some families were reluctant to participate. “But once they saw all the wonderful things happening through our Instagram or Facebook, they have been sending their kids,” she said.
