Diane Mason, FCS Agent in Boone County, is a leader in Kentucky Cooperative Extension international programming.  In October of 2019, she asked Dr. Nicole Breazeale to develop a program on Argentina, including an empanada making demonstration.  

Trained as a Sociologist of Agri-Food Systems (her dissertation research was funded by Fulbright and involved a year of ethnographic fieldwork in the burley tobacco belt of Misiones, Argentina) and interested in the power of storytelling to educate, open minds, connect and transform society, Dr. Breazeale built a program that was part travelogue, part introduction to the study of foodways.  Foodways refers the tracing of customs and traditions related to food.  The history of empanadas is bound up with the history of colonialism, and their recent spread to the US has accompanied Latin Americans and Filipinos as they migrate North due to globalization.  In a moment of heightened awareness of racial and ethnic divisions in America, can knowing about specific foodways help us to better understand and connect with people across cultures?   Can it help Kentuckians to be better global citizens and to feel more comfortable interacting with those from different ethnicities in their home communities?   This community leadership goal is, in fact, one of the stated objectives of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers International group, which seeks, “to promote cultural diversity programs to have a better understanding of the people in other parts of the world and those people from other countries who are moving into our communities.” 

The program was originally scheduled for March and 80 people signed up.  When COVID 19 hit, it was rescheduled as a webinar for the evening of Monday, June 15^th.  Twenty community members attended.  The program involved a thirty minute educational talk followed by a ten minute pre-recorded digital storytelling “demonstration” of empanada making with Dr. Breazeale and her seven year old son, Alexander (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrrKAZitZPw&t=12s).  A “live” demonstration of the crimping and folding process followed the youtube video, along with a Q&A.  The recipes were shared, along with instructions on where to find the “tapas para empanadas” at local supermercados and international grocery stores.

Eleven individuals completed the qualtrics online evaluation.  For the question, “rate the overall quality of this presentation,” the program earned a 4.9 out of 5.0.  “What an excellent presentation!  Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for us.  Very enjoyable!”  “Good information about Argentina.  Delicious and well explained recipes.”  “I loved the fact that you had your son help with the demonstration.”      

All 11 agreed (or strongly agreed) that the presentation increased their KNOWLEDGE and RESPECT for different cultures.   10 out of 11 agreed (or strongly agreed) that the presentation increased their DESIRE to interact with people of different cultures.  9 of 11 agreed (or strongly agreed) that the presentation increased their CONFIDENCE in their ability to interact successfully with people from different cultures.  Furthermore, 9 out of 11 said they agree (or strongly agree) that the presentation inspired them to want to cook more foods from other cultures.  In the open ended comments, 10 out of 11 mentioned they were definitely going to try making empanadas, and 3 noted that they would go shop at the local Latin American grocery store.  

One participant emailed me the next week with her reflections on her shopping trip to buy the pastries for the empanadas at a local Latin American grocery store.  She also sent pictures of the empanadas her family made along with her thoughts on the process and final product.    

“We went to La Guadalupana to shop.  I felt like I had been transported to Mexico.  I have been to Piedras Negras, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta.  The store was packed with all sorts of items, including some non-food items.  They had a large amount of various pastries they were selling.  So, of course, we had to indulge! ??.  We bought 3 different kinds that they recommended.  Not sure of the names because they weren’t labeled!   The Hispanic woman at the register came out to help us when we asked and she was nice.  I noticed that most of the time that she was talking to a Hispanic gentleman who appeared to be a customer. Her English was pretty good.  But once a non-Hispanic worker came in, she sent us over to us to help.  Not sure if it was because she was getting busy or if she thought she couldn’t communicate with us well enough??”

“We had a great time making the empanadas!  The beef stuffing was amazing.  But we did not like the tapas.  We bought the Goya brand (that was all   they had) so we need to find another kind!  Any suggestions? Here are the photos my son took.  They were the before the oven and after. We may need some “wrapping” and “crimping” tutoring from your son!  ??. LOL!" 

In light of this data and the program’s success in “empowering community leaders” (KERS 2005.1) and its influence on “intention to cook more” (KERS 2065.3), this pilot program will be expanded and offered to other volunteer-based groups in 4H and FCS with a focus on multi-culturalism.