While many students were heading to the beach for the summer, Kalamazoo College student Amelie Sack headed north to the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities in Traverse City. She participated in an internship to learn all about local food systems – and how those systems can help communities and health care.
“I’ve been able to help teach cooking classes with a very large range of people who need guidance and to learn how to eat more plant-based and cleaner [diets] for not only their health but for their general well-being, mentally as well,” says Sack.
Sack is a double major in anthropology/sociology and women, gender and sexuality, with a concentration in community and global health. Along with teaching cooking classes, Sack has helped create outreach and educational materials for places such as the Empire Regional Food Pantry, the Project Starburst Food Pantry in Big Rapids, and the Up North Fields farm stand in Benzonia.
Sack gave presentations at Esperance Community Teaching Kitchen, where she spoke to cancer patients from the Cowell Family Cancer Center, and at Munson Hospital in Traverse City, where she helped train local practitioners in culinary education focused on cardiovascular health.
In response to the recent passing of what is known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its coming effects on food systems, Sacks says: “With the bill … this is going to be devastating for children in schools who will not have access to lunch and/or breakfast. I don’t understand how people can agree with a bill that takes food out of the hands of children.”
Sack also studies how food systems and food deserts affect communities and global health. She also interns in the Hoop House at Kalamazoo College, producing fresh produce and providing meal preparation classes for students and community members.
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