My City February 2022

MYCOMMUNITY

"I was a Flint kid whO had a dream that gOt me tO the tOp and giving back has always been a part Of me."

people as I can how to eat healthier.” To accomplish this, he formed a part- nership with Royce Stephens and his D.R.E.A.M.S. program. “Royce and I put a program together at Hamady High School to start an aquaponics gar- den that the students help to manage,” he says. “At the end of January, I started virtual classes to teach the kids how to cook the food grown in the garden.” An aquaponics garden is a com- bination of plants and seafood, such as €sh or shrimp. Fish that live in a tank underneath suspended plants eat and produce ammonia. Bacteria convert the ammonia to nutrients that are absorbed by the plants suspended above.„e system produces nearly zero waste as it mirrors a natural ecosystem. In this way, students in the program learn about science, nature, nutrition and cooking skills. “Often, inner-city kids don’t learn about what good food can do for your health. One goal is to introduce them to the value of fresh food and to change their eating habits,” Brown explains. “Poor eating habits are often generational – if their parents eat unhealthy foods, they will too.” At a young age, Brown learned about the e‹ects of a poor diet. “As a teenager, I dealt with high blood pressure and needed medication to control it,” he says. “As I became more educated, I began to change my diet and be- came more active. At 37, I was o‹ the medication.” During the past summer, D.R.E.A.M.S. started a pilot program

in which kids were delivered a box of ingredients for a meal and then, Brown taught them to cook it with a virtual lesson. It was a resounding success and both Stephens and Brown hope to have the same success this winter with the current program. As the cooking classes continue into the future, Brown hopes he can be a positive role model and mentor to the students in the way his school sports coaches were to him. “„e coaches helped save me,” he says. “Now, it’s my turn to take on that role. I had to wait until I was an adult to see an African Amer- ican chef. I want these kids to see that cooking can be a profession for them.” „e D.R.E.A.M.S. program has been such a rewarding pursuit for Brown, he is looking to expand it and tie it in with some of his other pro- fessional plans. As soon as this spring, he will open his €rst food truck with a business partner in Chicago, hoping to

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have a food truck in at least €ve cities includ- ing Detroit. And, he hopes

to start an extension of D.R.E.A.M.S. in each city. “I want to help educate youth about food and being healthy anywhere I can,” he states. Looking even further into the future, Brown plans to open a new restaurant by 2024. Chef Nate Brown has never stopped moving forward and has found new motivation in the city of his childhood. “I love this city. Flint molded me and prepared me to go out and be successful,” he says. “I was a Flint kid who had a dream that got me to the top and giving back has always been a part of me. I want to do my best for the community and plan to con- tinue doing so. It ’s very exciting!” ®

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