Operation Frontline Massachusetts

Since Operation Frontline began in Boston in July of 1994, over 5,025 people have participated in 427 nutrition education classes. An additional 6,432 people have been served through nutrition fairs and other health-related events.

■ Operation Frontline partners with host agencies such as ABCD Head Start, Julie’s Family Learning Place, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Boston, DotWell, and South Boston Community Health Center to teach classes in Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Chelsea, Cambridge, Somerville, Gloucester, Cape Cod, Plymouth, Quincy, Framingham, Worcester, Marlborough, and Lowell.

Sukuma Wiki -- An OFL Participant's Story

Swahili: (verb) to push the week; (noun) leafy green side dish

Hawo, a recent Operation Frontline graduate, introduced us to this phrase during the Eating Right course she attended at the Kennedy Center Head Start program in Charlestown, MA. Growing up in the refugee camps in Kenya, Hawo knew of this traditional sautéed greens dish, but had never eaten it. Her husband grew up in the city where the greens were a staple dish, commonly mixed with scarce amounts of meat to “push” or stretch the weekly food budget; he assumed the dish was not available in the United States.

It was after our third class that things changed. Our volunteer chef taught the class how to cut a whole chicken into pieces, and then everyone worked together to make oven-fried chicken, sweet potato oven fries, and Brazilian-style sautéed collard greens. The meal was a success and everyone was eager to replicate these recipes for their families using the chicken, sweet potato, and bunch of greens we provided in their weekly grocery bag.

Preparing her collard greens as she learned in class, Hawo served the meal to her family unaware that she was serving her husband a dish almost identical to the greens he had grown up eating in Kenya. He was overwhelmed and wanted to know where she found the greens and how she learned to cook them. He called his mother and invited her to dinner that week so that she could also rediscover Sukuma Wiki.

We have come to expect certain results from our Operation Frontline classes: increased fruit and vegetable consumption, reduced weekly grocery bills, and improved understanding of how to use the Nutrition Facts Panel to make healthier choices. On her class evaluation form Hawo reported that her family eats more vegetables as a result of her participation in the Eating Right class. We know how to measure these outcomes and rate the effectiveness of our program, but the numbers don’t capture the real success here.

Sometimes it just happens: we didn’t do anything different. We taught a group of parents how to make healthier food choices, how to stretch their weekly food budgets, and how to prepare some new dishes. But this time we also had the privilege of seeing it change a family’s life. Our recipe may be called “Brazilian-style Sautéed Greens”, but to Hawo’s family and friends it is simply “Sukuma”, an inexpensive, nutritious dish that tastes like home.

For more information. . .

If you are interested in learning more about these Operation Frontline classes, or partnering with Operation Frontline to offer cooking and nutrition classes, please contact Alicia McCabe, Program Manager, at (617) 774-1323 or amccabe@ofl.org.

Operation Frontline MA is always looking for volunteers. If you would like to learn more about volunteering as a chef or nutrition instructor, or as a class assistant, please contact Gill Davidson at 617-774-1325 or gdavidson@ofl.org

Operation Frontline Massachusetts is located at 110 W. Squantum Street, Suite 27, North Quincy, MA 02171. Phone: 617-774-1320