Say hello to Shoshanna, one of our fantastic Mobile Teaching Kitchen Educators! In this role, she helps bring the culinary classroom curbside in the communities that we serve. The kitchen itself is a modified food truck carrying everything needed for pop-up cooking classes and demonstrations at schools, community events, farmers markets and more.
Visits typically take place in partnership with local food access partners who bring fresh and affordable produce markets to communities in need. Shoshanna and all of our other MTK Educators feature ingredients that are available at the market that day, bridging the final gap to more nutritious eating by showing how delicious and approachable making from-scratch dishes at home can be.
To help you get to know more about Shoshanna, we sat down to ask her a few questions as a part of a #VCPeople Q&A:
Q: So what do you do outside of your work as an MTK Educator?
Shoshanna: My background is photojournalism, which I use to document weddings and other events. Lately, I volunteer photography for After School Activity Partnership and plan weddings with Jeffrey Miller Catering. I’m also serving on the board of Photography Without Borders, which teaches middle school and high school students in North Philly!
Q: Wow, that sounds so interesting! And pretty different from your role as an MTK Educator, too. What is it that drew you to your role with VCP?
Shoshanna: Well I have been passionate about a plant-centered diet since reading Diet For A Small Planet at age 14. My sister-in-law teaches at Community Partnership School where VCP once administered the old Eatiquette program. Years later, I connected the dots and learned that MTK needed educators and thought it would be a great way to engage in another one of my passions!
Q: What has your favorite part of being an MTK Educator been thus far?
Shoshanna: With MTK, I love visiting communities in neighborhoods of my city that I have not been to before and getting to know them better. It’s always encouraging to experience people developing new relationships with vegetables, too. People are often pleasantly surprised by how delicious they can be!
Q: Last question – if you were a fruit or a veggie what would you be and why?
Shoshanna: I’d probably say grapes. They’re sweet and fun to eat, plus a full bunch has a sense of abundance.
If you see Shoshanna with the Mobile Teaching Kitchen in your neighborhood, be sure to stop, take a tasty sample, and say hello!