DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A brand new community kitchen is open in Dearborn. The non-profit behind the kitchen, Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities (LAHC), is working to tackle not just food insecurity, but also obesity in the community.
Through their efforts to make sure every person in their community is able to nourish their bodies through healthy food, the center is serving warm meals to those in need. After grabbing a warm bite to eat, neighbors can do a little grocery shopping on the way out.
"You feed the brain and the stomach and you get to take food to your family and feed your family," Chief Executive Officer of LAHC Wassim Mahfouz says.
But it doesn't stop there. Mahfouz says feeding people is just one way the non-profit loves on their community. The center is offering multi-generational cooking classes to teach kids and their families about how to cook healthy meals in an effort to fight childhood obesity.
"By teaching kids and their parents at a very young age how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you are setting someone on the path of living healthy and disease-free," said Wassim.
He said his passion comes from his own experience with obesity and health struggles. Because he was able to educate himself on health, he wants to share the knowledge he wishes he had.
The love LAHC has to give doesn't stop there. The non-profit is combining forces with their workforce development division to help children with developmental disabilities improve their life skills, as well as helping aspiring chefs make their dreams come true.
"A lot of people started cooking from home and selling and catering to support their families, which is a great thing to do. So through this program, we are going to teach them to do it the proper way," Wassim said.
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