Howard County Purdue Extension using mobile kitchen to educate
This article is brought to you by Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union. At Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union, you’re more than an account number, you’re a member of something bigger. We’re here to support your goals, your family, and your future with service that puts people first. Because community isn’t just in our name, it’s how we do business.
Join a credit union that puts you first: https://solfcu.org
Something’s cooking at the Howard County Purdue Extension Office. The organization recently obtained a mobile kitchen, enabling staffers to educate the community about cooking and nutrition. The need for this education is more acute than some may realize.
Many people in Kokomo and across the nation grew up in homes where cooking was a rarity. Fast food took the place of home-cooked meals. The skills passed down through generations didn’t translate or didn’t happen at all. Or perhaps the economics of purchasing fresh meats and produce kept nutritious meals off the table.
Led by Allison Hillis, director of the Howard County Purdue Health and Human Sciences Extension Office, an effort has been made to bring cooking education to the community. The mobile kitchen – a cart containing utensils, preparation surfaces and appliances, fresh water, and even an oven – is now in use through the office’s Food Is Medicine program, which is currently being conducted to a maximum-capacity class.
“The cart was grant funded through Community Howard (Regional Health) with the health equity grant they offer,” said Hillis. “It’s a mobile teaching kitchen, and it has everything I need for multiple people to cook along with me. It also comes with curriculum for grades K through five, but I have been using it for our Food is Medicine program.”
The Food is Medicine program is a national effort to educate people on how food affects their health. Locally, the extension office partners with the Howard County Health Department to conduct the program, teaching dozens of residents how to cook inexpensive, nutritional dishes.
The program, and the mobile kitchen, promote the extension office’s mission: community education; bringing the research being done at the university level to the people. The extension office does this through agricultural and natural resources education, health and human sciences education, and community development.
The education is important, but it was sadly lessened when the State of Indiana slashed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding in 2025.
“SNAP education funding was cut completely, so all of the people who were hired as SNAP educators to provide nutrition education and cooking education to people receiving SNAP benefits, those positions no longer exist,” said Bethany Wenger, the Howard County Health Department’s Public Health Projects Manager. “That’s why Allison started this volunteer education program, so that that education can still be provided to people who are lacking.
“The beauty of this model and of the Food Is Medicine program is weekly cooking demonstrations, providing people an opportunity to see something being prepared that they’ve maybe never used before, and to taste something that they wouldn’t want to spend their own money or limited resources to try for the first time. This is going to make it a lot more accessible for those volunteer educators to be able to provide that service to participants.”
Hillis has been pleased with the reception to the Food Is Medicine program to date, and she especially likes the flexibility the mobile kitchen provides.
“We look at how food impacts our overall health,” said Hillis. “It’s nice because I can do different recipes at each of the nine-week sessions. I can just cook it right here. I can plug in the cart and have a blender going or have an oven going. There’s a hot plate and a griddle.
“It’s really looking at how to promote better health throughout the community. A lot of times, it’s through cooking, learning how to use or trying different produce items, learning how to cook them well. For instance, eggplant can be really good. Eggplant can be really not good, depending on how it’s fixed. So, being able to show how to prepare it properly is important, but I am also not a Food Network star. Being realistic is a big, big thing.”
To date, the mobile kitchen has been used mainly to educate adults through the Food Is Medicine program, but Hillis envisions putting the unit to work in educating 4H participants, students … anyone, really.
“I’m also looking to start a volunteer cooking program through the Howard County Food Access Alliance, because food and nutrition is a big need in the county overall,” said Hillis. “I’m building kits so the community can cook; totes that are manageable for people to come in, pick up, and take with them.
“Once they’ve got curriculum access, they’ll be able to come and get those kits to go teach at a site. Even if a site has a kitchen, we can still make sure we’ve got some supplies.”