( left to right) Grace Hong and Temiloluwa Haastrup at the Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries; Mislaidy Figueroa( head chef at The Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries); Medical students Emily Thaman, Grace Hong, Temiloluwa Haastrup, and Alice Rodgerson at The Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries.
hot meal distribution, Hong and Haastrup met with food distribution leads to discuss potential collaboration. The Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries later graciously agreed to allow us to not only volunteer to serve meals, but use West End-inspired recipes to feed their people. Between May 11 and May 12, in addition to Hong and Haastrup, four medical students – Gabrielle Ogle, Ben Toebbe, Alice Rodgerson, Emily Thaman – prepared a hearty meal of salmon patties, mashed potatoes, peach, pineapple and strawberry cobblers, with green beans and corn for 50 + members of the West End community. The salmon patties were based upon Miss Barbara’ s Salmon Patty recipe from one of our past interviews, and are typically made by frying them in a deep dish pan. By reducing the oil and baking the patties, we were able to achieve the same meal with a fraction of the caloric intake.
Our team completed more than 50 interviews at Park DuValle Community Health Center. After interviewing patients, our team also focused on“ healthifying recipes”( Temiloluwa Haastrup, M2) and determining the nutritional value of the updated recipes( Leen Abozaid, M2, and UK dietetics student Marena Warta, MS in Nutrition and Food Systems, currently set to finish her dietetic internship in August 2025).
Our project has additionally expanded into broader community-outreach initiatives, now extending to neighborhood restaurants, where Emily Thaman, M2, is leading initiatives to arrange interviews with local restaurants, churches and other organizations. Together, we aim to uncover and celebrate the rich family stories woven into beloved dishes the community hopes to preserve. When asked about why interviewing community members is an important aspect of this project, Thaman said,“ The goal of this project is to serve and strengthen our community, and we can only do that effectively through personally connecting with our neighbors. And, arguably, the best way to do that is through sharing a good meal, or at least discussing one!”
The next steps of this venture focused upon taste-testing before finally being incorporated into the final cookbook. When Ms. Haastrup approached Jodi Votaw, Executive Director of The Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries, about collaborating, she excitedly agreed. Founded in 1988, The Lord’ s Kitchen Ministries is a non-profit organization that has four main pillars: addiction recovery, veteran housing, nationwide disaster relief and food distribution. This home-bred organization has served over 9 million meals in Kentucky and surrounding areas. Prior to our
What makes this venture unique is that it centers around the person behind the recipe. Each recipe is unique to a person, family and culture. Too often, healthy eating detaches patients from their cultural identity in the name of attaining a health ideal. A modern model that is aware of social determinants of health asks: What does it really mean to recommend healthy food to patients? To Hong, this answer centers around accessibility. She says,“ It’ s not just about telling someone what to eat, but about understanding whether they have access to fresh food, time to cook, a safe place to prepare meals and culturally relevant options. Without that, even the best advice can fall flat. As future physicians, I believe our goal isn’ t to completely change what people eat or how they live, but rather to suggest small, manageable substitutions that allow them to enjoy similar foods in a healthier way, and I hope this cookbook helps us do that.”
As we work toward completing our first cookbook, our goal is to distribute it to clinics so it will directly benefit patients. The cookbook will highlight beloved West Louisville recipes, personal stories from community members and practical tips on nutrition and budgeting— helping families stretch their dollars while enjoying healthy, flavorful meals.
Grace Hong is a second-year medical student at University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Temiloluwa Haastrup is a second-year medical student at University of Louisville School of Medicine.
July 2025 23