WATSONVILLE—Thanks to Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Extended Learning Program, students at Cesar Chavez Middle School are learning unconventional but practical skills, like how to make pasta, homemade salsa, enchiladas nopales, and seasoned fruits and vegetables.
The class, Fitness For Life (which is under the umbrella of the Extended Learning Program), is headed up by Patrick Littleton. Recently, a group of students took turns making small batches of dough, flattened them out and then, with Littleton’s grandmother’s pasta maker, each student formed their own spaghetti.
But it didn’t stop there: They tossed their batches of pasta into a kettle of boiling water, cooked it up and mixed it with fresh stir-fried vegetables. Then they sat around a picnic table and feasted on their creation.
“I am really inspired to be connecting with the school and having students plant, grow and eat healthy food,” Littleton said. “The things we make are easy to do and are based on nutrition while keeping it culturally relevant. Everyday is different. Fruits and vegetables are the main goal of our cooking.”
One student, Alvaro Mendez, said he liked the class because it “is really different.”
“It’s fun making food you can eat and to learn how it is made,” he said.
Littleton is aided in the class by Analupita Ramirez, enrichment specialist, who is also working to complete her degree at CSUMB in Human Services.
“It’s a great program and the students are super interested,” she said.
Littleton added: “I am super proud of her for balancing that work load; she does amazing work.”
