Showing Up Episode 8: Food Security Foundation For Learning

In this episode we talk about the impact of food security on childhood development and identify ways to support food access for children and families in our communities. We focus on trauma informed care and getting our basic needs met, such as food, water, and shelter. We offer tips and resources to help kids who may be struggling.  Special guests include Raelyn, a 13 year old food bank volunteer, Jennifer Anderson, the director of Kids Eat in Color, and Christine Tran from Good Food LA.

Guests: 

Kids Eat in Color

Christine Tran — Los Angeles Food Policy Council 

Additional Resources: 

Afterschool Snacks | Food and Nutrition Service 

USDA ERS - Key Statistics & Graphics  

Internation Food Policy Research Institute 

Mental Health Hotlines: 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 

NAMI HelpLine

Transcript

ELO podcast Showing up Episode 8 Food Security Foundation For Learning

[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:00:07.67] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Please note that Showing Up features themes of trauma, mental health, and resilience, which may be triggering for some. So, please, listen to your body's cues, take breaks, and use self-regulation strategies. Don't hesitate to ask for help. No issue is too big or too small. 

[00:00:25.03] REBECCA WONG: You can always reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA's national helpline at 800-662-4357, or text 988 for support. They will be available to talk with you and connect you to local mental health resources. 

[00:00:41.31] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:00:48.08] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Hi, everyone. I'm Sophie. I use she/her pronouns. 

[00:00:51.47] REBECCA WONG: And I'm Rebecca, and I also use she/her pronouns. So we're both part of the Trauma Informed Care Team here at Cultivate Learning at the University of Washington. Welcome to Showing Up. So this is a time where we talk about trauma informed care practices for Expanded Learning Opportunities, or ELO programs. ELO programs basically include anywhere where young people spend time outside of the typical school day classroom setting, like after school care, summer camps, and skill-based programs. 

[00:01:18.53] SOPHIE BIDDLE: But first, it's time for a pup date. So, Rebecca, I just have to tell you. We were at the Tulip Festival here in Oregon the other day, and Monty is still getting used to kiddos ages like 3 to 10-ish. He's a pandemic pup. I just didn't have people that I was in contact with that had kids that age during a pivotal socialization time for Monty. So loves babies, loves teenagers, still working on those elementary school age kiddos. 

[00:01:52.25] But he had a very positive experience at the Tulip Festival because there was this little one who was probably just about 3, and she was just covered in corn dog. And she was so happy to see Monty, and ran over from her parents, and just started stroking his ears and his face. And he was just licking her face and hands, and she was cracking up. 

[00:02:18.38] REBECCA WONG: So cute. Monty was like, oh, this child tastes like corn dog. 

[00:02:23.81] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Monty was like, OK, children are delicious. And this kid-- I was just cracking up. It was the most wholesome sweet little moment. It was worth the drive just for that positive social interaction around this corn dog toddler and Monty. It was really quality. 

[00:02:42.08] REBECCA WONG: That's so cute. 

[00:02:44.42] SOPHIE BIDDLE: How about Gus? Does he have any food that he's really into? Because I know Monty is now newly into corn dogs. 

[00:02:49.94] REBECCA WONG: Yeah. Gus loves food. He's so food motivated. But the thing that I've noticed that he gets aggressively beggy for is pizza and ice cream. So if I'm eating either of those two and I'm sitting on the couch-- normally, he'll beg by just sitting in front of me on the ground, or normal dog begging. But if I'm eating pizza or ice cream, he'll hop up on the couch, sometimes on the armrest or the back of the couch just so he can get as physically close to my face as possible. 

[00:03:24.69] And I think we've experimented like, is he so desperate for pizza or ice cream that he'll try to eat stuff out of my hand or my mouth? So I held a little bit of pizza crust for a little too long, and he tried to eat it out of my hand, and almost tried to eat it out of my mouth, and I was like, Gus, this is too much. 

[00:03:47.21] SOPHIE BIDDLE: I get it, pizza and ice cream are amazing, but. 

[00:03:50.81] REBECCA WONG: Yeah. It's funny. Other foods he's a normal amount of begging, but for those two things, it's like, I need it now. 

[00:04:01.25] SOPHIE BIDDLE: We can extend him some grace there, but, perhaps, also work on him. 

[00:04:04.94] REBECCA WONG: Yeah. 

[00:04:07.47] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Well, today we are talking all about the impact of food security on childhood development and identifying ways to support food access for children and families in your community. This podcast focuses on trauma informed care. So getting our basic needs met, such as food, water, and shelter are just foundational for our existence. When children and families are unable to get these basic needs met, there is, of course, a tremendous amount of stress and ongoing trauma. 

[00:04:36.54] REBECCA WONG: Yeah. We also need food to be able to engage in the rest of our lives like learning. I know when you're hungry you can't focus on taking in a lot of new information. And, also, food can just be a positive source of cultural identity and cultural traditions. I know for me food is something that-- is one of the main things that helps me feel connected to Chinese culture and traditions. 

[00:05:00.06] When I feel like I'm missing my family, or if I need some comfort, I often will resort to making Chinese food, or making food that my mom made for me when I was growing up. If I'm sick, I'm going to make congee for myself because that's something that's warm and soothing to my body and also my soul. 

[00:05:18.72] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. I think that's a really great point. Food can be a source of comfort and safety, and it's a way that we care for ourselves and others. So food security and access to culturally-sustaining foods like the example you just gave, that's healing work. And as adults supporting young people, we can advocate for their access to food and be aware of how many young people may be struggling with food insecurity. 

[00:05:42.82] REBECCA WONG: So according to the US Department of Agriculture, 10.2% or 13.5 million US households were food insecure at some point during 2021. This means that these families were unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all their household members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. 

[00:06:00.06] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Today we'll hear from many perspectives on food insecurity. We'll talk with 13-year-old Raelyn[R1] about her work at a community food bank. Next we'll hear from Kids Eat in Color Director, Jennifer Anderson, to talk about food policy in the United States and potential program partnerships. Lastly, we connect with Christine Tran from GoodFoodLA, who shares her experience supporting children who face food insecurity, and how that has shaped her advocacy work. 

[00:06:26.59] REBECCA WONG: Let's jump in with our interview with Raelyn. 

[00:06:28.43] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:06:34.37] Welcome, Raelyn. Can you introduce yourself, share your pronouns, and tell us about your work at the South Vancouver Food Bank? 

[00:06:41.00] RAELYN: Hi, my name is Raelyn, and my pronouns are she/her. The South Vancouver Food Bank is a place where the community members who need extra support in terms of food go to. I was first introduced to this food bank in the summer of 2021, and I was introduced to it through a program called Biocycle, and I've been volunteering at this place ever since. 

[00:07:06.59] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Raelyn, that sounds like such a cool program because it helps you learn about environmental and social justice issues, and also connects you with direct community action around supporting the food bank. 

[00:07:18.92] RAELYN: Yeah. 

[00:07:20.81] SOPHIE BIDDLE: What have you learned about yourself and your community from volunteering at the food bank? 

[00:07:25.58] RAELYN: My experience from volunteering at the food bank exposed me to a real-life situation of people who are in need for a safe access for food, and also a really good amount, a sufficient amount. And I felt that I have just acquired more empathy towards people in general, and also realized that the food we take for granted can be just so hard to come by for others. 

[00:07:53.54] REBECCA WONG: I think I had a similar experience when I first-- I volunteered at a food bank when I was in my late teens, also, and had a similar eye-opening experience of like, oh, this is not available to everybody. Can you tell us what you like about volunteering at the food bank? 

[00:08:10.13] RAELYN: There are many things I like about volunteering at this food bank, but something that I actually really enjoy is helping out with my community members. And, also, even just after a few weeks of volunteering a few summers ago, I already learned so much about the staff and families who are really friendly and really nice to talk to and made many new connections. 

[00:08:33.11] SOPHIE BIDDLE: That's awesome. It sounds like you made new friends that were both like adults, and the young people and the grown ups that come to get services and volunteer there. What would you like to tell other kids or teenagers about volunteering at the food bank maybe if they're thinking about volunteering themselves? 

[00:08:50.01] RAELYN: Well, I think that volunteering here is a great learning opportunity, also, and a great experience for connecting and bonding with the people in your family, community. And, also, just by helping out, I think, is one of the many ways to start engaging for community members, and I felt that if we could all just do our part in our own little ways, we'll be able to make a better change and a good difference for yourself and others. 

[00:09:21.23] REBECCA WONG: I love that. I love that it's like something that you can do to of feel part of this larger community, and it's within your control, that you can decide to go in and help out. And I also heard there might be something that you can do with your family, too, something that you guys can do together, which is great. But thank you so much for being here today, Raelyn, and for being on our podcast. 

[00:09:44.87] RAELYN: Yeah. Thank you. 

[00:09:46.30] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:09:57.55] SOPHIE BIDDLE: All right. It's time for our word of the week. 

[00:10:00.34] REBECCA WONG: We're going to share a vocabulary word every episode to help build shared terminology for talking about trauma informed care practices. Today, we'll share our definition for the term, food security. Food security as defined by the United Nations Committee on World Food Security means that all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods that meets their dietary preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. 

[00:10:29.27] SOPHIE BIDDLE: There is a range within these two categories of food secure or food insecure. It can be helpful to think about this as a spectrum. People facing some food insecurity may be literally getting their basic caloric needs met, but it could be taking up significantly more time, energy, and stress than someone who is completely food secure. 

[00:10:49.16] For example, moderate food insecurity may happen in scenarios where kids are able to get meals at school during the school year but not during the summer. Some people also don't have access to grocery stores and may struggle to regularly get perishable foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. 

[00:11:06.18] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:11:20.48] JENNIFER ANDERSON: So Affordable Flavors is a 30-day meal plan designed to help families feed their family for just over $500 a month. Our plan was to help families because we know that feeding a family on a budget like that is just really hard. So we brought together a diverse team of dieticians, we put this puzzle together for families. It includes shopping lists, the meal plan itself, the recipes, everything that a family would need to make it easier. 

[00:11:49.16] Plus it calls out WIC foods so that if a family is receiving WIC benefits, they're able to use them. This meal plan is available for free to anyone who needs it for free, and if there's an organization that wants to license it and distribute it, we are always willing to do that as well. A lot of families prefer to purchase it. There is a sliding scale fee if they choose to do that as well. But you can find that at kidseatincolor.com. 

[00:12:14.83] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:12:30.35] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Hi, Jennifer. Can you introduce yourself, share your pronouns, and tell us about your work at Kids Eat in Color? 

[00:12:36.22] JENNIFER ANDERSON: Sure. So my name is Jennifer Anderson. My pronouns are she/her. And I am a dietician, a mom, and the founder of Kids Eat in Color, which started with me standing in my pediatrician's office, looking at my pediatrician as she told me that my 9-month-old was not gaining weight. 

[00:12:55.87] And that began this long journey of trying to keep my child on the growth chart, and eventually starting an Instagram account, and Kids Eat in Color. And then growing Kids Eat in Color into the resource that it is for parents from their baby's first bite of solid foods, all the way through picky eating, and elementary age nutrition needs. So that's how I'm here. 

[00:13:20.57] REBECCA WONG: Thank you. I know Sophie and I are big fans of your Instagram, so we're just thrilled to have you here. Could you tell us about your background working in after-school programs and coordinating food banks? 

[00:13:31.81] JENNIFER ANDERSON: I started out after college. I had studied cultural anthropology, which, of course, nobody understood. And my parents were like, why did you do that? And I got a job at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, coordinating their youth nutrition programs. I didn't know much-- I didn't know anything about nutrition, but I knew that I really wanted to help kids eat. 

[00:13:57.85] And so I began to coordinate their after-school snack program, their summer food service program, and then, eventually, I found a way to integrate the after-school supper program into our programming, enabling kids at risk youth sites to actually get much, much bigger snacks. 

[00:14:18.58] SOPHIE BIDDLE: That's awesome. Some of our early work with youth directly, we asked them what the most important part of an after-school program for them would be, and overwhelmingly, of the 300 kids surveyed, they said snacks and food. So we really know directly that that matters a lot. 

[00:14:33.98] And I know that improving food security is an important part of your work. I saw that you were just part of President Biden's gathering on food policy. Can you share more about why food security is important, and how the stigma around food insecurity impacts kids? 

[00:14:48.40] JENNIFER ANDERSON: Sure. If a kid doesn't have enough food, they can't learn, they can't grow. We need our kids to have food. We absolutely-- we can't do anything without it. This is a basic need. So when a child doesn't have food or they don't have enough nutrition, they're not going to be able to concentrate. 

[00:15:08.17] Let's say they have food, and they have enough calories, but it's all carbohydrates. I love carbohydrates. I think they're really important for kids. But if a kid doesn't have access to protein and fat in addition to those carbohydrates in the morning, they're going to burn off all of that energy, and then they're not going to be able to concentrate for the rest of the day. 

[00:15:30.77] So you hear that sometimes when teachers say, when my students just have a sugary breakfast cereal and that's it, by 10 o'clock, nobody can concentrate. And so we know that, not only do kids need that nutrition to grow, but they also need that nutrition to be able to continue to concentrate the rest of the day. 

[00:15:55.10] Additionally, when you think about the stress that food insecurity brings-- I was actually just reading a-- gathering some statistics on child hunger in the US, the 2021 data has recently come out. 5 million kids in the United States are experiencing food insecurity in their households. And a half a million of those are experiencing very low food security. Meaning they literally don't know if they're going to have food consistently, and there have been times when they haven't had enough food to grow. 

[00:16:29.80] So it's a real issue, and it's ridiculous that we are even having to deal with this. We have so much food. We have so much in this country. And so I think it's important at all levels, at the personal level in your neighborhood, at the larger level in your schools, and, of course, for those of us who are involved in broader things, it's so important that we're always looking for ways to improve kids' access to nutrition. 

[00:16:57.79] REBECCA WONG: Yeah. Thank you. I think those are some shocking statistics. And you're right, we could have so much abundance of food here that it's a shame that it's not getting to the people that needs to get to. Talking about increasing food security, what are some strategies that some ELO providers could use to increase food security in their programs? 

[00:17:17.27] JENNIFER ANDERSON: So I think participating in any sort of food assistance program that you can is really important. So we have the National School Lunch Program, encouraging families to be aware of this, to use it, and, of course, we're always advocating, right? And I think providers can also be part of that advocacy saying, hey, can we get less stigma around school lunches in our neighborhood? The more people we have pushing for universal school lunch, the less there's going to be stigma around using that. 

[00:17:51.44] But, also, finding summer food service program sites in the summertime, that's going to be really important. And there's usually a broader range of places and types of places where those lunches can be delivered. And then there's also the after-school snack program. Now, these are-- the after-school snack program, after-school supper program, those are administered through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

[00:18:16.30] So whether you're working with babies, those toddlers, and you're serving half an egg to them, or whether you're working in the teen setting and you're getting after-school snacks or after-school suppers in those settings, it's a really good resource to bring food into your program, whatever it is. 

[00:18:41.47] And then, also, it's important to refer parents out to resources, to that school lunch, free or reduced price school lunches, food banks in your area, also the WIC program, the Women, Infants, and Children program. These are all amazing resources that parents often have access to. And the more that we can help people realize and get over some of that stigma that parents might be-- they might be hesitant to use some of these resources, but they're there for parents. 

[00:19:16.03] I always remind people-- I've heard people say, oh, well, the WIC program, if I use it, then someone else is not going to be able to use it. That's not how the WIC program actually works. The more people who use it, the more money goes into the program, the more people have access to it. So there's a lot of misconceptions out there. 

[00:19:32.47] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Thank you. Those are so many great tips and resources. And I will admit that I didn't really know about the after-school snack program, that that was something that providers could apply for and potentially bring in. And your point, too, about how ELO providers can be that bridge for families is really key. 

[00:19:49.10] We see a lot of data around how-- especially families that English isn't their first language, or they're new to this country, their primary contact is largely after-school providers. And thank you for the work that you do to help support kids and families across the country, and reducing the stress of feeding our kids. 

[00:20:04.99] JENNIFER ANDERSON: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. 

[00:20:07.16] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. 

[00:20:07.66] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:20:25.90] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Hi, Christine. Can you introduce yourself, share your pronouns, and tell us about your career working on food access and food justice for children? 

[00:20:34.06] CHRISTINE TRAN: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. My name is Christine Tran. I'm the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. My pronouns are she, her, and hers. 

[00:20:45.85] And I started working in food in a very roundabout way. I actually started my career off as a teacher. I taught middle school and high school for the Los Angeles Unified School District. And I loved my job, and I was so frustrated that my students were always hungry. And a lot of my frustration came from the fact that we have a school food program, but the students weren't accessing it as well as the food not being nutritious enough for the students. 

[00:21:19.25] And so a lot of those complexities led me to my path of food today. A lot of my career journey has encompassed research, policy advocacy work, community-based organizing. So it's been a hodgepodge of a career, but it's all cohesive in that it really demonstrates my commitment to justice when it comes to food access, but also, what are the things that we want in our community so that we are nourished, and feel safe, and can just be joyful. 

[00:21:55.00] Because part of the journey that is being human is to be happy and to be taken care of by each other and also just having some deep reflections of how to support people who are supporting others. 

[00:22:13.99] SOPHIE BIDDLE: I love that reflection on how food is such a foundational part of us feeling safe and bringing us joy. So I just-- I love that. When we're thinking about the intersection of food access and trauma informed care in this episode, and I'm just curious, can you share your experience about trying to show up for kids in a trauma informed care way, especially when they're hungry? 

[00:22:41.98] CHRISTINE TRAN: Well, I think it's important for us to acknowledge that hunger is trauma. And it's so fundamental because I feel like sometimes-- especially when we approach a space like hunger from a privileged lens, it's oh, I've worked through my lunch hour, and/or I didn't get what I really wanted for lunch. And there is this concept of, as a child, you are essentially fed through the lens of an adult, through the timing that is the system. 

[00:23:16.78] And there are definitely a lot of challenges when we think about how to make things more equitable for children because they operate in an adult world to some extent. And so a lot of the work that I've done before around school food in particular, I've seen children not being very visible in those systems. And an example. 

[00:23:44.05] When I was a congressional hunger fellow for the Congressional Hunger Center, there's a program that for one year you do six months of field work, and then you do six months of policy work. And my field placement was actually in Milwaukee. And my two projects, which I love reflecting on today, one was a after-school supper program qualitative evaluation. 

[00:24:09.43] My goal was to understand how after-school supper programs worked. Because if you are in school after school, are you getting enough food? Are you getting enough nutrition for your day? And oftentimes in a dinner program, you have elementary schools that tend to feed younger children first and older children later. 

[00:24:36.23] And so when you're in an after-school program and you're, let's say, in first grade, your lunch was probably at 10:30, and now it's 3:00. And so you're actually prepared physically to have another meal, not just a snack. And so when you do that timeline, it just doesn't make sense for why certain things are. 

[00:25:01.12] And, usually, younger kids in those types of school systems eat first. It's surely out of over crowdedness when it comes to the size of a school, but then, also, younger kids will tend to eat first because they want to separate the young kids from the older kids for socialization purposes and safety. So it makes perfect sense, but then if you don't step back and look at the full day of a student, you're not going to really understand those complexities very well. 

[00:25:33.85] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. I think that's a really important thing to think about, especially as our audience is primarily after-school providers, that if we're getting-- I would be hungry if I hadn't last eaten since 10:00 AM and it was now 3:00 PM. And your reflection, too, that hunger is a form of trauma. Food insecurity is a fundamental trauma for children. 

[00:25:55.66] When we met a couple of weeks ago, you told me a lot about the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Could you explain that program to our listeners and share about your experience with it in the Milwaukee public schools? 

[00:26:09.13] CHRISTINE TRAN: The Child and Adult Care Food Program, also known as CACFP-- it took me a long while to say CACFP-- is a program that is primarily found in early child care centers, as well as in K-12 settings, and senior assisted living homes as well. It's a reimbursable program for organizations and institutions like schools to be able to offer meals in different contexts. 

[00:26:41.48] So we all know what the National School Lunch is because school lunch, but then programs like after-school supper doesn't quite fall into the National School Lunch program. And so CACFP is a program that complements the National School Lunch program to offer after-school supper. And in so many ways, even this conversation that we're having, I mentioned breakfast in the classroom, lunch, and dinner. 

[00:27:12.77] So in order to actually provide a student with a full day's worth of meals-- because when we think about, again, from a child's perspective, when they're in care, specifically because their parents might be working, we have to think about, nutritionally, where that food comes from, and where that money to pay for the food comes from. 

[00:27:34.78] Unfortunately for a lot of these programs, the school lunch program included, it's based on a reimbursement model that's not quite robust enough to pay for labor, to pay for benefits. So programmatically, a lot of the programs like school breakfast, lunch, and dinner under the California Adult Care Food Program operates under a reimbursable process where the meal itself gets reimbursed, but not everything else to bring that meal to the child. 

[00:28:10.91] So CACFP has historically been very popular for a lot of care centers, but like any program, it's really difficult to apply for, to get reimbursed for. So to some level, we do have organizations and agencies enduring a lot of bureaucratic challenges when it comes to participating in some of these programs. So there's definitely barriers to how an organization or an institution takes on programming like supper and during school day nutrition. 

[00:28:52.12] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. Thank you for pointing out that. The barriers to access for the adults trying to help kids can just be really immense and challenging, too, and that can get lost that it's a lot of additional extra hard work for adults on the ground trying to support these kids. 

[00:29:10.04] CHRISTINE TRAN: Yeah. Most definitely. And I think school food and child nutrition in general is highly tied to how we've industrialized our education. And so when we follow the historical pattern of prioritizing education and including nutrition over time, there's been a strong disconnect between how to holistically look at feeding and educating kids at the same time. 

[00:29:42.98] Unfortunately, a lot of school food service labor are not as respected as, let's say, a teacher in an educational setting. And with that, it's really hard to actually figure out how to do school program meanwhile, and to get funding for it, but also to really engage students in the process, too. 

[00:30:06.71] And I think that's one of the challenges with the way in which we operate school food programming is that it's like, this is what you get, kids. Take it or leave it. And there's no form of engagement, and there's no form in being able to break bread and be joyful, which goes back to our original topic earlier about how much food should bring joy. There should be some excitement with what you're going to eat for the day. 

[00:30:37.43] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. Absolutely. Food, it ties us to our culture and our immediate peers who we're eating with, and it can be such a source of strength, and it can also help. It's the foundation for learning. So if kids are coming in hungry, they're also not learning. So I think that it's really just a fundamental building block. 

[00:30:59.00] CHRISTINE TRAN: Most definitely. 

[00:31:00.53] SOPHIE BIDDLE: What is one key takeaway that you hope adults understand about children's access to food in their after-school programs? 

[00:31:09.00] CHRISTINE TRAN: Like I mentioned earlier, hunger is trauma. And I think it's just really important for us to understand where kids come from, what their home life is like, what they have access to. I say this because food during the school day could be all of the food that kids are getting the whole day, or it could be part of what they're getting. But regardless, the time that you have with kids is the time that you have with kids. 

[00:31:38.01] And if we can show up for children in a way that helps mitigate hunger at home, that helps kids socialize during the school day, all of those pieces, I think, are really important. When we think about trauma informed care and the intersections of early childhood development, also families-- one conversation I had with an early childhood leader a few years ago is this context of why we separate these issues. 

[00:32:16.01] When we think about trauma informed care, especially in an education context, people often will think, how much is an educator aware and trained to respond to trauma? That's one area. But how does that teacher engage with the parents of the children, the community of the children, all of those pieces come together in what we call intersectionality. 

[00:32:44.27] But I want to actually challenge us to think about intersectionality in reality and practice. We can separate our identities or compartmentalize them in a way where we treat trauma informed care as just a training checkbox of like, yes, I know what that means, how do we actually put it to practice? 

[00:33:08.30] And I say this because, I myself, am the child of refugees and immigrants, and so when I went to school for the first time-- I'm a product of Head Start-- I had foods that I never had before. I couldn't talk for quite some time because I was learning the language. And there were times, reflecting on my childhood, where I just went with the flow because I didn't know how to operate. 

[00:33:38.61] And as most people in early childhood call, the observant phase, I was in that observant phase for quite a long time before I knew how to engage and interact. And the only ones who really understood me were my Vietnamese teachers. I had two in early childhood and in early elementary. And those were the moments where I felt seen and heard. 

[00:34:04.22] And then after that, if I didn't get someone who understood me linguistically, a look, or a hug, or just some expression of, I see you, really made a difference. And I think for young kids, a meal that they recognize is something that can give them that comfort. And even still today as an adult, it's like, oh, Taco Tuesday, great. That brings me joy. So how do we facilitate that for children and their families? 

[00:34:44.72] And there have been movements right now because school food has been seen as, historically, such an industrialized sector of highly-processed foods, where now more and more folks are doing scratch cooking, and there are a lot of people out there who are introducing new types of foods to kids in a way that, historically, a lot of school programs have never done before. Seattle Public Schools has done an excellent job in diversifying menu options. It might not be exactly what kids are used to, but it's close, and I think that's part of the system trying. 

[00:35:27.53] And I remember as a kid, one time a year during Lunar New Year was when we got like teriyaki chicken over rice. And it was just that one time of year, that one time of year that you got cubed turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. But it was just that one time of year where I just remembered, I'm like, oh, rice is familiar to me. 

[00:35:53.33] And I didn't know what teriyaki chicken was because it's a very Americanized thing. So it was just like, oh, it's chicken over rice. That feels homey to me. And I recognized that as a kid. And I think as children and as adults, we wait for those signals to give us some comfort in knowing that there is a level of care that's out there and experience that we can connect to. 

[00:36:21.33] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Oh, Christine, that's just like the most beautiful reflection. Thank you so much for sharing that story. I think that you just get to the heart of what an ultimately-- if you had to distill down what trauma informed care is, it's being able to see, connect, and know, and support ourselves and other people really holistically. 

[00:36:44.61] And the way that food can do that is obvious through this story of that you remember being a very young child, and the day that you were able to have rice which was something that was familiar to you at school. So, again, just really shows the power of something so simple can mean so much and have such a lasting impact. Christine, thank you so, so much for being here with us today. 

[00:37:08.65] CHRISTINE TRAN: No problem. Thank you. This was fun. 

[00:37:10.88] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:37:22.08] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Strategy spotlight is a time for us to share one thing you could implement in your ELO program or classroom. Our strategy spotlight today comes from our interview with Jennifer Anderson from Kids Eat in Color. Do you have any more tips on how ELO providers can help connect families with local food resources? You mentioned a couple, but I don't know if you had any more thoughts on that. 

[00:37:42.72] JENNIFER ANDERSON: Sometimes there is a big administrative burden associated with these programs. There was a lot of paper associated with the Child and Adult Care Food Program. But often, there is another organization in your community who will do it for you. 

[00:37:59.74] So I worked for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. It was my job to do the paperwork so that you didn't have to do the paperwork. But I had 75 youth sites that I was working with to get either snacks, or suppers, or lunches to them. And if you can find an organization in your community that's serving it, whether it's the local food bank, which honestly a lot of those are administering these programs. So if you are looking for something, finding that big food bank in your area, and saying, OK, what programs do you have available? Could I apply for one? 

[00:38:36.97] The other thing is just knowing what food pantries are in your area. Because, often, families don't know of the food resources that are out there. And between inflation and everything else, it is getting really hard even for families to make the current resources last. And I think food pantry use is really going to go up. 

[00:39:01.35] There is a national hunger hotline. If you Google national hunger helpline, you will find the phone number there. Somebody can call. I believe they can input their ZIP code, and then they can learn about what food resources are in their area. 

[00:39:18.83] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

[00:39:34.59] SOPHIE BIDDLE: As we wrap up this episode, we'll leave you with a few key takeaways and reflection questions. Part of building a trauma informed care practice is building our own self-awareness so that we can better show up for the young people in our lives. What were some of your key takeaways, Rebecca? 

[00:39:50.13] REBECCA WONG: I think one of my main key takeaways is how food helps us all feel connected. I was thinking about Raelyn's interview and how just volunteering at her local food bank helps her feel like part of the community, and I definitely remember having similar experiences as a teenager. And just that food is something that's relevant and important for everybody, right? It's a basic thing that everybody needs to eat every day. And yeah, so it's just a great way to connect with others. 

[00:40:20.30] I also love Christine's connections to food and culture, and it just made me think back to my childhood experiences as an Asian child growing up in America. And I remember I bonded with one of my friends that we're still good friends today because we were both the Asian kids with the weird food on the bus. And people were like, what is that? And I'm like, well, you don't know. But I have grown closer with other people because we have that shared experience, too. Yeah. 

[00:40:50.98] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Yeah. The role food plays in community care and community building really stood out to me, too, and how part of trauma informed care is building positive and safe relationships, and the example you just gave of how food can be a really integral part of that process. 

[00:41:08.14] I also learned a lot from Kids Eat in Color, and Christine Tran about the different programs that are out there for teachers and after-school providers to partner with to make sure kids are getting enough food throughout the day. I know this is cheesy, but it really does take a village. 

[00:41:24.97] REBECCA WONG: Yeah, definitely. So next, I think we invite you to take some time to reflect with a few reflection questions. So our first reflection question is, how are culturally significant foods discussed or consumed in your program? What is one way you can bring in more diverse cultural foods? 

[00:41:46.91] Second, remember you don't need to know everyone's food security status in your program, but what are some ways that you can support children who may be food insecure by applying universal supports across your program? Think about how you may offer snacks and meals while children are with you. 

[00:42:03.68] And lastly, take a few minutes to research local community resources. What partnerships and resources can you share with families who may be struggling with food security? 

[00:42:13.57] SOPHIE BIDDLE: For those of you listening that are working directly with young people either professionally or in your personal life, we see the really important work you're doing, and we hope that this episode gave you some fuel and inspiration to continue. 

[00:42:26.97] REBECCA WONG: Remember, you may not know who is food insecure in your program, but there are things that you can do across your program to support young people who might be struggling. Offering snacks or meals or reaching out to national partnerships like the National School Lunch programs after-school snack service are great places to start. We have the power to create healing and safe environments where kids feel safe, and seen, and supported through culturally sustaining and nutritious foods. 

[00:42:52.80] SOPHIE BIDDLE: Thank you so much for joining us today. 

[00:42:55.48] REBECCA WONG: This podcast was produced by Cultivate Learning at the University of Washington with funding from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. We'd like to thank our media producer, Tifa Tomb, and our graphic designer, Tami Tolpa. You can find more of Cultivate Learning's work by going to cultivatelearning.uw.edu. 

[00:43:16.08] [MUSIC PLAYING] 

 [R1]Raelynn should be spelled Raelyn, need to replace all.