SCREENSHOT TAKEN BY ROXANNA MIRANDA FROM THE UTRGV CAMPUS FOOD SECURITY INITIATIVE SUSTAINABLE TABLE WEBINAR SERIES LIVESTREAM
Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER
The Campus Food Security Initiative (CFSI) is hosting Sustainable Table webinars this month for the public and campus community.
Jayshree Bhat, assistant vice president for the Office of Professional Education & Workforce Development (PEWD), said the Initiative’s mission is to address food insecurity, foster healthy eating habits and connect to locally grown, fresh-sourced produce and plant-based foods.
“In keeping with that, we wanted to roll out webinars to the community that anyone can attend, where our student employees of the food preparation team, who work under the guidance of our culinary education specialist, Ms. Eva Paschal, demonstrates how easy it is for people to incorporate plant-based food into their diet,” Bhat said. “And, so, we have chosen a different topic or different theme for every session, twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.”
On Tuesday, the “Salads|Beyond Lettuce” webinar will take place at 5:30 p.m. and “A Taste of Italy” at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
On April 20, the “Taking the Mystery Out of Rice” webinar will take place at 5:30 p.m.; April 23, “Lentils and Beans|The Magical Fruit,” at 12:30 p.m.; and the last webinar, “Super Grains, Super Food” will be at 5:30 p.m. April 27.
To RSVP, visit the Campus Food Security Initiative’s Eventbrite page. Students can also access the live webinars through the UTRGV PEWD YouTube page.
She said the 45-minute sessions show people how easy it is to create simple meals, snacks or specialty meals, such as Italian and other types of ethnic food. The sessions will also show how plant-based meals can be incorporated into any type of eating lifestyle.
“It starts out with an introduction and then we show the demonstrations by our group preparation team,” Bhat said, “followed by a presentation by a local partner, you know, agency entities that really support food sustainability and sustainable food systems in the [Rio Grande Valley]. And, so, each session will be introducing a new community partner that is also invested in the same food insecurity, addressing food insecurity through healthy meals, fresh produce and things like that.”
She said education is an important component in changing people’s behavior and lifestyle.
“We’re going after lifestyle changes, behavior changes,” Bhat said. “So, it has to start with education, and you engage people, and then, you empower them with the knowledge that they need to be able to put themselves in that path. So, education is key. So, that’s why we’re rolling out these free webinars that people can access from anywhere.”
She said in May, CFSI will develop more in-depth training that will be geared toward people who want to get into the food industry, such as chefs and food-preparation people.
“We hope to be able to establish a food sustainability coalition that collectively looks at how to improve the lifestyle and eating habits and how to incorporate plant-based food into people’s diet in the Valley,” Bhat said. “Because, as you know, the Valley also has a high prevalence of chronic conditions that people experience and, a lot of times, lifestyle change becomes a necessity after they’re diagnosed. We would like for people to start thinking about it long before it becomes a health condition for them.”
Marketing freshman Jessica Garza is a student employee on the food preparation team.
Garza said she joined to learn to use kitchenware and make healthy snacks.
“This is my first time ever doing something like this,” she said. “I was very nervous the first time. We went in, they told us the next day we were going to be on camera, and I was a little nervous, but I managed to do it. Everyone there was really helpful. The team was really great.”
Garza hopes people will try their recipes so they can build a healthier life.
Jose Cazares, a civil engineering senior, is also an employee in the food preparation team.
Cazares said he wanted to be involved in these webinars because he wants to help promote a healthier lifestyle for the community.
“Well, at first, in the interview when they were telling me what the CSFI stands for and the fact that they want to promote a healthier lifestyle here for the community in the Valley, it [was] really interesting,” he said. “Me, mostly because my brother is in the medical field and he was telling me about how the Valley, it was known for having a large amount of patients with diabetes and overweight, and I saw that I could make a change in my community helping promote some healthy lifestyles, healthy diets and I just want to be part of the team to help our community.”
He said his experience in the webinars has been wonderful.
“The team is wonderful, we all work together. We’re like a family, we all work together,” Cazares said. “ I work with Ms. Eva … She also likes to help us and show us more about the culinary art, she also tells more about the nutrition facts about the ingredients we use.”
He said his favorite webinar is the first one, “Kitchen Tips and Tricks.”
“We’re showing people how to cook the ingredients, such as tomatoes, showing them how to just take off the seeds, even I did not know that either, I’m not going to lie,” Cazares said. “But when I saw that I was like ‘wow, something new.’ Even I, myself, I was learning. We also showed people how to create a zucchini salad, which is one of the best dishes we’ve ever done. ”
He said they are not trying to push people into changing into a vegan lifestyle.
“We’re just showing them, ‘hey, a change in your diet can help you in the long run, and you don’t have to make a change and change everything, just a small change in the long run can help,’” Cazares said.
