Creating Healthy Schools is a program of Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, and is an effort that prioritizes students and local food. The group believes that “healthy schools make healthy students.” They work to transform schools through farm to school initiatives that include food literacy and student leadership. As part of the programming, high school students develop recipes that are then presented to and tested by younger students. High schoolers who are exploring future careers, learn how to work with local food, and younger students who are forming eating habits for a lifetime, are exposed to fruits and vegetables and engage with the process. The program focuses on food literacy, local food sourcing, and hands-on education.
I walked into Nellie B. Chisholm Middle School in Montague/Whitehall on a sunny day and a group of 30+ high school culinary students from the advanced Hospitality & Food Management group had already assembled and were sitting quietly as the instructors introduced an agenda and ran through the details of the day ahead. During that day’s lunch periods, through the Creating Healthy Schools Muskegon County program, a program of the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, the high school students led tastings of recipes they’ve created with local food at both the elementary and middle school.
As part of Groundwork’s support to a farm to school project through the Partnerships for Local Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS), I got to see, up close, one of the more robust projects in the food system, which supports both student health and work force opportunities, but also helps keep Michigan farms thriving as they sell to schools throughout the school year.
MAISD has partnered with Groundwork since the beginning of our involvement in developing the 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan Kids and Farms program, a grant program that helps schools purchase Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans, and has been an inspiration as they continue to prioritize local food and inspire interest in students through cooking and working with local food. Purchasing the food from nearby farms is a major focus. When I visited, it was during their Winter Squash Tasting Event, which is a part of their Cultivate Michigan Student Recipe Creation Project. I got to know some of the students, what their experience has been like in the program, and what aspirations they have. I also was fortunate enough to try the recipes they created, including the Roasted Butternut Squash and Butternut Squash Queso Dip. I also forgot how silly middle school students were, how honest elementary school students are, and how moving it is to see a teenager figure out their path in life.
We wanted to take a moment to highlight two students who created the recipes for this particular day.
Muskegon Area Career Tech Center’s advanced Hospitality & Food Management Student, Ja’Niya Agnew, Muskegon High School, Class of 2026
When asked about why cooking and recipe development was of interest to her, Ja’Niya explained that it began with her mom. She watched as her mom went through her routine in their home kitchen and would jump in to help. Her favorite recipe is the dressing that her mom makes for Thanksgiving. Ja’Niya wanted to go beyond that and learn how to make other foods that were interesting to her. She wanted to start fresh with her budding interests. Baking is one, and when asked if her friends and family see her as a baker she says, “Last year, I made some strawberry crunch cupcakes, and my cousin, she kept asking for more.” She believes the magic was the frosting.
She says the school program uses local food, which helps to make sure it’s clean and that everybody’s getting a “fresh feeling” of what the foods are and where they grow and where they come from. “From what they sell in the stores compared to getting it from a farm, I think it’s better to get it from a farm.” She says that even though stores might buy fresh food, it takes a while to get it there. The sooner you eat it, the more nutrients you’ll get.
Bringing in a whole squash means you have to break it down, cut it, process it. Ja’Niya says it was hard at first and there might’ve been a few nicks trying to peel it. ”But after I kept doing it for so long, I understood it, got the feel of it, and how it worked.” They practiced every day. “Practicing it regularly.. it makes perfect…All you have to do is keep trying, you won’t forget it.”
Ja’Niya’s culinary future looks promising. “First I have to do college and figure out where I want to go with my college degree,” she says, because her mom is encouraging her on that path. And then she plans to move onto culinary pursuits.
Muskegon Area Career Tech Center’s advanced Hospitality & Food Management Student, ZaNaubre (Orchard View High School, Class of 2026)
ZaNaubre said creativity was the goal in using squash as a main ingredient for this project. How could she make something that hadn’t been tried yet? She also has a clear path for her next few years. Here are a few things to know about ZaNaubre and her recipe:
ZaNaubre noticed that many of the recipes being created in the class were desserts. She wanted to do something that stood out. Her first recipe idea was a squash french fry with a cinnamon butter dip, but it didn’t work out the way she planned, although, as she said this, another student said, “you’re making me hungry” — he was assured that they’d all get to eat lunch soon. The course is one year but each project is 9 weeks. And over the 9 weeks it was about trial and error. Her second recipe rose to the surface and was one of the top three recipes chosen for the tasting day, which was decided upon by a group of culinary students in the program. The final recipe included a butternut variety, and also spices like cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Nutrition is a consideration as well, and students make sure to stay under a certain amount of salt and sugar.
When I asked ZaNaubre why she chose this course in school she said, “I want to learn. I just wanted to prepare myself for when I go into the Navy for culinary. They came in and spoke to us.” She realized it was something that she really wanted. She gets to start that program this summer, after graduation.
And like Ja’Niya, ZaNaubre spoke to the nuances of working with local product. “There’s a lot of prepping.” She went on to explain that first she would cut them in half, dice them, then season them and bake them. “It’s a long process.” And the kids loved it! 
Ja’Niya’s Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash
Zanaubre’s Butternut Squash Queso Dip
Sasha’s Butternut Squash Fluff recipe
About Butternut Squash
Jen Schaap is Groundwork’s Food & Farming Program Director
jen.schaap@groundworkcenter.org
