By Marcella Jimenez and Susanah Rodrigue, MS Staff Writers

For the past two years, Deborah Winfield, first grade teacher, has had her homeroom participate in the Soul Food Café.

This year, it will be held on Feb. 29. It is the culminating activity of the class’s African-American studies unit.

This unit includes examining the foods of African-Americans. The students then begin to brainstorm about what they consider to be soul food.

"Throughout the unit of study, Service with Soul: A Salute to the African-Americans, I plan to introduce my students to artists, poets, musicians and cooks," Ms. Winfield said. "The study of African-American culture and the culminating event, The Soul Food Café, represents who I am. It has contributed to my uniqueness: thick lips and curvy hips, which I am proud of. I am blessed to have the flexibility and support to be creative here on the Hill."                                                         photo by melissa lopalo

After they discuss the unit and host the café, the first graders get a better overall sense of what soul food really is and the culture it comes from.

"Every ethnic group has what it calls ‘soul food,’ soothing comfort food that brings back warm memories of family dinners," Ms. Winfield said. "The term became popular in the 1960s when the word ‘soul’ was used in connection with African-American culture: music, art, food, etc. With that being said, many families had dinners and ate many of the items we will cook, as it became an important part of the African-American culture."

The foods they determine to be soul foods get cooked and served to the Lower School faculty.

Students make menus and serve food at the café. Many of the students are very excited about the event.

"You get to eat and make good food," first grader Gabe Imery said.

Students work at the kitchen in Lower School making dishes such as macaroni and cheese, purple hull peas, and 7-Up cake.

"I love cooking," first grader Veronica Lostak-Baker said. "That’s why my last name is ‘Baker.’"

While the food is a major part of the project, the Soul Food Café teaches other important lessons.

"I’m hoping they gain appreciation for different cultures and that they walk away with a sense of family because they’re all eating together," Ms. Winfield said.

Administrators are also looking forward to being able to participate in this event.

"I am going to fast three days before this café," said Michael Simpson, Head of Lower School.

Former students of Ms. Winfield’s homeroom found it to be a memorable experience.

"I never would have tried those purple hull peas on my own," third grader Addie Gomez said.

The reason behind the founding of the café is personal for Ms. Winfield.