To understand why people eat as they do, we need to understand their daily challenges such as low income, violence, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), self-esteem issues, and lack of nutrition education. In order to do this, we need to establish trust between the Offshootz staff, the children and their family members, educational systems and the community as a whole. Our focus is to introduce participants to various foods from different cultures to expand their palate, their view of the world, and hopefully improve their health with measurable outcomes.

Sprinkled in-between the expansion of the palate will be to expand their world providing trust-building activities that can include outings such as volunteering at other urban farms, visiting hospital simulation labs, horseback riding, yoga, visiting sporting events and entertainment venues, and other activities that will help participants “escape” their existing mental state, and replace their anxiety with constructive outlets.