Yash Garden Remediation | Part IIDate posted: September 8, 2012 |
Though it’s technically still summer outside (though not for long), we’ve got fall planting on the brain. But hey, not so fast! We have one more thing to do before we can plant. As you may remember, we did a little garden remediation back in the spring, planting black-eyed peas to bring more nitrogen to the soil. Over the summer, MercadoFRESCO intern Lilybeth Hernandez and volunteer extraordinaire Jackie Illum, enrolled in the Masters’ Program in Urban Planning at USC and herself an avid gardener, have been tending to our remediation crop. They cut down the black-eyed peas, chopped them up and mixed them into the soil to plump up its nutrient content.
Now it’s time to mulch the garden, and our crew of CNMT students (with teacher Jorge Lopez) + ELARA grads + volunteers stepped up for a serious workout.
TOP: The Garden Mulching crew gathers.
BOTTOM: Installing wire trellises for grapes.
MIT: CoLab Radio, 07.16.2012Date posted: July 16, 2012 |
John Arroyo, “A Fresh Food Advocate Emerges from an L.A. Food Desert,” MIT: CoLab Radio, 10.19.2012
Clara Mejia (right) and her friend Catherine Martinez.
It’s tough finding fresh food in a food desert. Just ask Clara Mejia and her classmates at the East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy (ELARA). “In East L.A. it’s cheaper and easier to buy four fast food hamburgers than to cook a healthy meal at home,” stated Clara. “There just aren’t many options for healthy food here.”
Clara was born and raised in Mexico, where she was accustomed to her grandmother’s home-cooked meals. She has vivid memories of accompanying her grandmother to buy fresh produce at the localmercado and recalls how much she looked forward to preparing traditional meals like vegetable cream or her favorite, lettuce tacos. However, everything changed after Clara moved to East L.A. Clara was unsure about the food. “Everything tasted different,” she said. “The flavors were unfamiliar.”
CNMT Video: DecisionsDate posted: June 10, 2012 |
It’s not always easy to make healthy food decisions. With so many options competing for our attention, it can be down-right paralyzing. In a food landscape like East Los Angeles, fast food outlets beckon at every corner and + junk food tempts you at every aisle. Diego Garcia finds out just how much it all gets into your head.
Check out “Decisions” in English >>
CNMT Video: Mom Is Never WrongDate posted: June 9, 2012 |
It’s only one little soda a day. Or that’s what Chico thinks. His mom knows better. Listen to mom + have fun watching this video created by students from the School of Communications, New Media + Technology (CNMT) at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. The students worked collaboratively to develop the script, create the sets + costumes, and perform + film the video. See the behind-the-scenes action below.
Check out “Mom Is Never Wrong” in English >>
Yash Garden Remediation | Part IDate posted: April 30, 2012 |
Gardens require a lot of care + commitment, as the MercadoFRESCO interns | ELARA students have learned this semester. A number of the plants in Yash’s backyard garden seemed to struggle this spring so we brought in Master Gardener Lucila Caro to help out. After looking over the garden, she determined that amending the soil with additional nitrogen would help. So we broke out the garden tools . . .
The plan is to grow black-eyed peas, which bring more nitrogen and nutrients back to the soil, from seed. In the late summer, we’ll cut down the plants, and turn them into mulch for the soil. In the early fall, when the soil is chock full o’nutrients, we’ll plant a new crop of edibles.
Ramirez Cooking Demo, 04.22.2012Date posted: April 22, 2012 |
MeradoFRESCO interns| ELARA students Jocelyn Herrera + Ylse De Los Santos + Jessica Rodriguez teamed up to produce + promote the second installment of QUICK + EASY + AFFORDABLE MEALS, this time at Ramirez Meat Market on Sunday, April 22, 2012.
This marks the first MercadoFRESCO Cooking Demo at Ramirez Meat Market since its Grand Re-Opening in February. In anticipation of grilling season, the demo featured warm-weather dishes such as “Mango Strawberry Banana Smoothie,” “Grilled Asparagus with Garlic + Lemon,” “Classic Beef Kabobs” and store owner Celia Ramirez’s own “Veggie + Chicken Noodles.”
Yash Cooking Demo, 03.11.2012Date posted: March 11, 2012 |
Offering culinary adventures in a backyard garden on the corner of Hazard + Hammel Streets in East L.A., the PAN-ASIAN COOKING DEMO at Yash La Casa Market on Sunday, March 11, 2012 shows that diverse cuisines offer delicious, flavorful dishes that prominently feature fruits + vegetables.
Part of Proyecto MercadoFRESCO’s efforts to increase fruit + vegetable consumption among East L.A. residents and promote the transformed stores as community health resources, the event was conceived, organized and promoted by students at the East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy (ELARA) at Esteban Torres High School. Led by MercadoFRESCO interns Catherine Martinez, Clara Mejia + Naomi Ortiz, these enthusiastic community health leaders pulled off an inspired event that drew over 50 participants.
Yash Chalkboard Mural Promotes Multicultural Cooking DemoDate posted: March 1, 2012 |
To promote the upcoming MULTICULTURAL COOKING DEMO scheduled for Sunday, March 11, 2012, the marketing-savvy MercadoFRESCO interns | ELARA students made good use of Yash’s large side wall on Hazard Avenue. The mural they created, which incorporates a variety of Asian motifs, encourages cross-cultural culinary exploration in their very own neighborhood. Since Yash’s market makeover last October, the chalkboard wall has served as a revolving billboard of sorts, amplifying messages that promote Yash and fruit + vegetable consumption to local residents.
Ramirez Meat Market Makeover Pics: BEFORE + AFTERDate posted: February 18, 2012 |
A lot of work has gone into the transformation of the Proyecto MercadoFRESCO Market Makeover Store #2: Ramirez Meat Market, on the corner of Folsom + Rowan in East L.A.
Check out the dramatic transformation below.
EXTERIOR FRONT:
GRAND RE-OPENING: Ramirez Meat Market, Saturday, February 11, 2012Date posted: February 11, 2012 |
On Saturday, February 11th, Ramirez Meat Market re-opened to offer East L.A. residents a new inventory of fresh fruits and vegetables, the result of a collaborative effort by local youth, community members, the Ramirez family (storeowners), UCLA students and staff, Nathan Cheng Consulting, and Public Matters through the UCLA-USC Center for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD)’s Proyecto MercadoFRESCO.
There was a great local turnout, with giant fruits + vegetables, community organizations, delicious food and mariachis making for a festive atmosphere.
