Wholesome Minnesota focus on high school “Green Teams” is having an impact!

by | Apr 3, 2023

April 3, 2023

 

Jodi Miller Gruhn, our Wholesome Minnesota Director, recently met with students at the Apple Valley Environmental School. Her presentation focused on the impact of diet on the environment. Her main point was that a plant-based diet is better for the planet.

The student Environmental Club is excited to work on getting more plant-based options. They plan to meet with the nutrition director to get that moving. Staff shared: “all involved were enamored with your presentation and are so ready to take some action!”

The students and staff have already invited Jodi back. She will do multiple presentations for the larger student body. They are scheduled for April 20 in honor of Earth Day. Jodi’s visit will include a vegan cooking lab with 11th and 12th graders!

Wholesome Minnesota has also made presentations to other school groups. Jodi met with the Westonka High School Green Team on February 27. The students there were similarly impressed.

Afterwards, students asked for some plant-based options for school meals and got them! Based on their input, the Nutrition Director added a veggie burger on Mondays and vegan chicken nuggets on Wednesdays. For the rest of the year!

Presentations to high school groups continue throughout the year. Stay tuned for more success stories!

Over 200 high school students explore the “power of the plate” with Wholesome Minnesota

by | Feb 22, 2023

by Jodi Miller Gruhn, Wholesome Minnesota Director, February 22, 2023

Armstrong High School Students cooking vegan food at their FACS class with Jodi Gruhn

My visit to Armstrong High school was one of my favorite days working for Wholesome Minnesota. The FACS (Family and Consumer Science) teachers had promoted my “vegan” visit and the students in the seven classes I visited were incredibly curious. Some because they are interested in plant-based eating, others because they thought it was unbelievable that someone would choose a plant-based lifestyle. These two curiosities made for interesting conversations and a real dialogue between myself and the students.

I shared a short presentation about  the power of our plates in terms of health, the environment, animals and inclusivity. The most powerful moment of the day occurred when a Muslim student approached me upset that they couldn’t make or eat the sausage I’d brought because of their religion. After I explained the sausage was entirely made from plants, and that I would never bring food that one cultural group couldn’t eat, a larger conversation including the entire class occurred. We talked about the power of inclusivity and what it feels like to be excluded due to dietary reasons. The student who’d raised the issue left the class beaming.

We made pancakes with oat and chickpea flour focused on the importance of fiber and easy ways to up the protein in almost any recipe. I shared substitutes for eggs like aquafaba, applesauce, and flax and chia seeds. 

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Wholesome Minnesota and Support + Feed partner to support and empower student groups

by | Nov 23, 2022

Support+Feed (supportandfeed.org) is partnering with CAA’s Wholesome Minnesota to educate youth groups on the importance of plant-based eating. The issue is being presented related to the benefits for both personal health and the environment. 

Support+Feed is an intersectional nonprofit organization dedicated to creating an equitable, plant-based food system and combating food insecurity and the climate crisis. Founded in Los Angeles by Maggie Baird, Support+Feed has expanded to ten US cities, worked with over 80 community organizations and supported local economies across the country.

Last Thursday, Support+Feed and Wholesome Minnesota met with the students of the two Bloomington High Schools: Jefferson and Kennedy’s Green Team and Voices of Unity. Support+Feed donated 40 meals from J. Selby’s for the meeting!

We had a lively discussion with students about the environment and inclusivity. Participants also explored the possible ways our organizations can support them. The students expressed interest in learning more about plant-based nutrition and cooking and how to spread the word about these issues. In future, Support+Feed will be sending meals/snacks to the weekly student meetings (how awesome is that?).

The students loved the food and many were shocked to find that the meals were plant-based! They said that they would be telling their friends about it. What do you want to bet that there will be more students at the next meeting? 🙂 

We also talked a lot about issues surrounding school lunch and how they might help encourage food services to include more plant-based and inclusive options. The principal and three teachers are supportive of the students’ activism around plant-based eating. 

As part of this effort, the students have developed their “ask” for inclusive school food and will be sending it to administration in the near future. This effort is completely student-led.

Wholesome Minnesota presented to the Minnesota Public Health Association

by | May 27, 2022

Wholesome Minnesota (WM) Director, Jodi Gruhn presented at the Minnesota Public Health Association’s state conference in May 2022. The theme was, “Together, for Planet and Community.” This opportunity allowed her to highlight WM’s vision with an influential audience. The audience included representatives from state, county and city public health departments, the health plans, University of Minnesota and other colleges’ students, instructors and administrators, elected officials, and stakeholders from the fields of nutrition, economics, environmental health, to name a few.

Jodi’s talk focused on eating plant-based as an environmental justice strategy. She shared how diet choices impact the most vulnerable. Her point was that a shift toward a plant-rich diet can support environmental justice.

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