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Service-Learning HUEC 2014: More than a food drive
"When you have a service-learning partnership, it is a class at LSU along with the service-learning department and a community partner who can benefit from students' input," explained Myhand. She believes that students are more enthusiastic about learning when they realize that what they are doing in the lab will actually benefit people. "Service-learning is a way to incorporate hands-on learning while providing an outlet for all the information that accumulates throughout the semesters. Our experiences, as service-learners, give us a glimpse at our future careers and point us toward our future. Service-learning also provides an outreach to our community. We may not be impacting many people, but we are making a difference in someone's life," explained Denon Drew, a dietetics sophomore and one of Myhand's students. The service-learning initiative at LSU is designed to provide credit-bearing, educational experiences in which students participate in organized service activities that meet identified community needs. For Myhand's class, the service-learning initiative at LSU became hands-on experience at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank
The population of people finding themselves using the Food Bank has certain health problems specific to their situation." These people might have access to food, but it is not always food that will be healthful to them," explained Myhand. Myhand and her class wanted to educate these people about the foods they are receiving at the Food Bank. "The idea was that we would educate and provide healthful recipes in the form of a booklet," continued Myhand. The booklets, which will tentatively be printed at the end of the Fall 2004 semester, will contain simple information connecting nutrition, health, and food choices to the increased risk of disease. HUEC 2014
As the lab final for HUEC 2014, Myhand's class took standard recipes and changed them to reduce a particular element such as saturated fat and increase the nutrient value of the food. After volunteering at the Food Bank for 10 hours as part of the class requirements, the students learned that the Food Bank receives either canned foods or processed foods, which are high in sodium. When these foods replace other more healthful alternatives in the food plan, research shows that it can have an affect on the overall health of the individual and may increase their risk of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. The team of Raquel Ferrer, a May 2004 graduate in engineering, and Heather Stewart, a senior in dietetics, chose an acceptable recipe using foods available from the Food Bank that are high in fiber and then made adjustments to reduce the sodium and saturated fat content. These recipes were then evaluated by way of an informal taste test and they were all found to be very acceptable. They were also low in cost. By showing in the booklet how the students made these replacements to reduce sodium, the people receiving these booklets can learn to make similar adjustments on their own. "Creating recipes for the beneficiaries of the Food Bank was important because the types of foods they receive are not always healthy. The course challenged us to create healthier versions of traditional recipes to improve the health of the people who require the services of the Food Bank. These people are usually at high risk for hypertension, diabeties, heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer, and obesity," explained Stewart.
1/4 pound dried red beans, soaked in water overnight Bring the beans and enough water to cover them to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours, adding water as needed. In a large saucepan combine oil, tomato sauce, Sofrito, bouillon cube, and venison sausage. Cook over medium heat until sausage is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked beans, Sazon Goya, and water. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Prepare rice.** When the rice is done, remove the pot from the heat and fluff the rice. Return the lid for about 5 minutes. Serve the beans over the rice. Makes 4 servings.
1/4 pound dried red beans, soaked overnight Bring the beans and enough water to cover them to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours, adding water as needed. In a large saucepan combine the tomato sauce, Sofrito, bouillon cube, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook over medium heat about 10 minutes. Add the cooked beans, Sazon Goya and water. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Prepare the rice: In a small, heavy pot that has a good heavy lid that seals well, add 2 1/4 cups of water, 1 cup of brown rice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring this to a boil, then turn the heat to very low, put the lid on, and simmer for 40 minutes. When the rice is done, remove the pot from the heat and fluff the rice. Return the lid for about 5 minutes. Serve the beans over the rice. Makes 4 servings
*Sofrito is a mixture of ground aromatic vegetables that is commonly used in Hispanic foods. Here is one recipe for this mixture: Sofrito 1 cup chopped green or red bell pepper (about one small) Purée all ingredients in a blender. In a small heavy saucepan simmer sofrito, stirring, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sofrito may be made two days ahead and chilled, covered.
**Prepare the rice: While the sausage is cooking, prepare the rice. In a small, heavy pot that has a good heavy lid that seals well, add 2 1/4 cups of water, 1 cup of rice, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring this to a boil then turn the heat to very low, put the lid on, and simmer for 20 minutes. Contact Erin Fink | Student Writer
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"When will we ever use this?" This is a favorite question of students, but for 
According to its mission statement "The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank exists to service short-term, unmet food needs of individuals in the greater Baton Rouge area through existing or social service providers, churches and synagogues and other organizations. This purpose is accomplished by supporting or providing services such as food distribution and educational programs."
"One of the things that my students need to know how to do is to adjust a recipe," explained Myhand."This is exactly how service-learning works. They learn how to adjust a recipe so that they meet one of the goals in the course, but at the same time in doing so they provided help to a group of people who needed to have that adjustment made for them."
#1 Spanish Style Red Beans and Rice - The first alteration involved changing the pork sausage to venison sausage and the canned red beans to dried red beans. Venison sausage is often available at the GBRFB through a program called Hunters for the Hungry. They also reduced the salt in the rice to 1/2 teaspoon. This recipe, contains 8 grams of dietary fiber, but only 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 460 mg of sodium per serving, making it an excellent alternative.
#2
Spanish Style Red Beans and Rice - The second alteration
involved preparing the beans without meat while using the dried
red beans. They increased the vegetable content of the beans by
adding a carrot and some celery and extra garlic to make up for
the flavoring lost by the exclusion of meat. They also replaced
the white rice with brown rice. They reduced the salt in the rice
to 1/2 teaspoon. This recipe contains 8 grams of dietary fiber but
only 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 460 mg of sodium per serving,
making it another excellent alternative. 
