Credit: Tosin Ajala

Students from Ithaca’s Beverly J. Martin Elementary School (BJM) were treated recently to an unusual culinary experience, thanks to a new program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County (CCE-Tompkins) and the volunteer efforts of a group of visiting school superintendents from Wayne County, New York.

It began with a call from the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES, which was seeking to actively engage school superintendents in a food activity to benefit local students. This sparked the idea to introduce students in BJM’s A+ Enrichment Program to cuisine based on the ancient Indian health system of ayurveda, as prepared by an aspiring local caterer, Asif Ullah, and supported by CCE-Tompkins’ Food Entrepreneurship Program.

The end result? Fifty students went home with a nourishing meal of kitchari, a rice and lentil dish, and cauliflower potato subji, prepared by Ullah at CCE-Tompkins and assembled by 25 superintendents at Cornell’s Statler Hotel.

Credit: Tosin Ajala

The Food Entrepreneurship Program, funded by the City of Ithaca Community Development Block Grant Program and the Latino Civic Association, helps a diverse range of budding food entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of starting a catering business. The program aims to develop sustainable catering and food vending businesses that enhance social well-being and economic development.

For more information, contact Lara Parilla Kaltman, nutrition and community development issue leader at CCE-Tompkins, at 607-272-2292 or ljp9@cornell.edu.