Education and culture combine at Benton Harbor's Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School for March Reading Month

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Elementary school students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School swapped out their pencils for chopsticks during their lunch time.

In honor of March Reading Month, the students will read books that include certain traditional dishes, and a professional guest chef will bring those meals to life. Thursday's meal was dandan noodles with chicken and vegetables, a traditional Chinese dish.

"You like Chinese?" Shanera Hester asked the kids in the 3rd grade lunch period. Hester has worked in the food industry for years and works at four schools in Benton Harbor.

"For cooking, you had to have a passion. For kids, you had to have a passion. I have a passion for both."

Sometimes, kids aren't open to trying new things. Hester says today was different.

"They'll tell you if it's good, they'll give you thumbs up. If they don't like it, they'll give you thumbs down. Most of all, we got a lot of thumbs up."

Hester says the connection between literacy and cultural meals is important. Hester is the supervisor of a five-woman team that runs the school kitchen. Part of her team is Sharon Smith, long time food service worker and big-time fan of educating through food.

"As of now, food is breaking the culture barrier. So, if we give them different stuff, then they could understand 'well, okay, we just don't eat this because we're this color. We can eat anything and be any color,' and that's what I like about it," Smith explained.

Today the five women who run the kitchen saw growth in the people their look at as their own kids.

"We got kids today that's actually eating, that usually don't even eat, so it is awesome," shared Smith.

There will be three more weeks of this program with guest chefs and stories to go along with the meals for the kids.