Last week, students in Mr. Chris Krenzin’s culinary classes prepared 250 meals and combined compassion, education, and service to support families in need and make a tangible impact in Dickinson County.
Most of the chicken and vegetable fried rice meals were donated to Neighbor To Neighbor and the rest were split amongst schools in the district. This was made possible with funding from the Kid
s Feeding Kids program based in Kansas City. Together, 100 students from 4 culinary classes took part in the project under the direction of FACS teacher Krenzin. The program provided students with hands-on experience in the classroom while teaching them about the causes and realities of food insecurity.
“Many families face the daily challenge of food insecurity and rely on programs like SNAP just to put meals on the table,” Krenzin said. “Through our ‘Kids Feeding Kids’ project, our cu
linary students are stepping up, not just to cook, but to care. They’re preparing meals with heart, recognizing that when one child goes hungry, our whole community suffers.”
The cooking process was broken into steps throughout the week, beginning with rice preparation, followed by proteins, vegetables, and then packaging. Along with cooking skills, students also focused on sanitation and safety.
“This one really focuses on food handling and safety,” Krenzin said. “We’re all washing our hands, cleaning up, and making sure the kitchen is sanitized because these meals go to the public. We’re not serving ourselves,” Krenzin said.
Senior Tyler Henry said the experience was both emotional and meaningful.
“It makes me feel better as a person,” Henry said. “In Kansas, there’s like 300,000 people that struggle with food
insecurity. We’re not fixing that problem, but we’re relieving it in our community one step at a time. It’s very heartwarming, but it’s saddening to know that people struggle with this.”
Krenzin emphasized the importance of students connecting emotionally with the project.
“You’ve just got to pay attention and be willing to pull your heart forward,” Krenzin said. “It pulls on the heart strings when you talk about food insecurity and why people don’t have the means to have a meal. Then taking that heart back into the kitchen and working on it really opens some eyes.”
