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The Ardmore Institute of Health has awarded Union’s Master of Public Health Program a grant to establish a culinary medicine teaching kitchen (CMTK). The $35,000 will purchase six commercial-grade mobile workstations, each of which will include the culinary tools and appliances to support two students at a time, enabling the university to host classes of up to 12 students in the teaching kitchen. Any remaining funds will be used to support a student garden that was established by Union’s first public health cohort last year. 

“With the CMTK, we can translate abstract nutritional guidelines into practical, appealing meals,” said Eric Aakko, director of Union’s Master of Public Health Program. “In public health, we promote healthy eating patterns to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and ensure adequate nutrient intake across populations. Knowing how to cook healthy food that tastes good is essential for dietary adherence.”

Aakko is a certified plant-based chef educator and will guide students through an evidence-based culinary medicine curriculum established by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. The curriculum is entirely plant-based and teaches basic culinary and knife skills, including the preparation of a range of entrees, sides and desserts. The first classes in the teaching kitchen will meet once per week for nine weeks starting in September.

The source of this grant, the Ardmore Institute of Health, was founded in 1947 and is committed to improving health and well-being through lifestyle change. The institute draws inspiration from Adventist principles of healthy living and the sanitarium movement in its work.  

Cooking classes are far from a new frontier for Adventists, and Aakko points out that lifestyle medicine mirrors many Adventist beliefs while providing a modern clinical and scientific framework for health improvement. “Both lifestyle medicine and the Adventist health message view health holistically, recognizing the interconnection between the physical, social, mental, and spiritual,” he said. “The Adventist health message goes beyond just health improvement, to also see healthy living as a form of stewardship and worship.” 

Learning culinary skills will help students address food insecurity and life in food deserts, issues Aakko has had to confront in communities throughout his work in public health. “The CMTK experience can empower individuals and communities to make the most of often limited resources,” he said. “This can involve teaching cooking techniques for inexpensive staples like beans, legumes and whole grains, preserving food, minimizing food waste, and adapting recipes to utilize foods available through assistance programs like WIC or SNAP as well as community gardens and food banks.”  

Additionally, the classes will provide public health students with an applied research laboratory. Aakko anticipates future research examining behavioral change and behavioral intention before and after participation in the culinary medicine program.

According to Aakko, research elsewhere has demonstrated students who engage in a CMTK are more likely to adopt and maintain a healthier lifestyle while also engaging with and promoting a healthier lifestyle to their patients and community. With so many of Union’s students heading into careers related to health care, a teaching kitchen on campus will empower them to become better health educators and advocates.