What we know:

There are food deserts in Baltimore.
People in Baltimore are not healthy.
There is a wide range of economic backgrounds in Baltimore.
People like to eat.
Change is hard.

The Solution:

Charm City Casserole Cook-Off: Eat This, Baltimore!

The solution uses highly applied public health and urban food policy approaches in order to promote community building and city revitalization. Casseroles became the frontrunner as the catalyst for change after using a wide social, structural and cultural lens to assess the opportunities that could be seized to create a turning point in people’s lives.

Casseroles are a familiar food and easy to make. They can be made with easily sourced ingredients and can be made at a variety of health and price points. Many of the current food/urban agricultural projects that are occurring across the city are focusing on food accessibility and nutrition consciousness-raising. A logical next step is to get people cooking.

Casseroles, in this paradigm, are intended to be used in a similar way as mushroom soup is used in their recipes—as glue that holds unsuspecting ingredients together. Casseroles are inherently meant to be shared and thereby are great vehicles to promote community building. Driving deeper connections in the community raises trust and can help rebuild our informal networks, which are an important influencer of health status. Casserole contests can be part of Baltimore’s economic engine. The contest can be used as an opportunity to showcase the diverse food offerings Baltimore has to offer as well as raise funds for a worthy cause like Whitelock Community Farm. For reference, the Texas State Fair made $3.6 million dollars in ONE day…the day of the fried food competition. Why wait?

There’s a $50 1st place cash prize for each category! Compete/Eat!