By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Comfort foods have gotten many of us through some stressful COVID-19 days.
But for some international residents of Bowling Green, those comfort foods are continents away. Mac and cheese or tuna casserole are foreign to their taste buds.
So the Welcome BG organization is working to bring familiar foods to Bowling Green residents far from their native homes.
“International students fall under the radar,” said Mojabeng Kamala, coordinator of Welcome BG.
When COVID hit in the spring, many couldn’t get home, and had to leave BGSU residence halls for off-campus housing. While some get food from local pantries, many of the staples provided are not familiar to their palates.
“They aren’t used to the American foods,” Kamala said. “It’s not like they are snobbish. They just don’t know what to do with it.”
Many international residents from South America, Africa, India and Japan are accustomed to cooking from scratch, using fresh not canned foods, she explained.
To meet those needs, the Bowling Green Community Foundation has provided a $2,000 grant for an International Friday program to increase awareness about challenges faced by international students in BG. The program will focus primarily on food insecurity, exacerbated by the pandemic, and will supply basic food items that meet their dietary, cultural and religious preferences.
This program captured the attention of Bowling Green Police Sgt. Adam Skaff, who made a commitment to find a freezer to help store the perishable food. Donations from the BG Command Officers’ Association, plus J&A Building Ventures, paid for the freezer, which was delivered to Welcome BG earlier this month.
“Everyone was on board,” Skaff said of the police supervisors who donated toward the freezer.
“I met with Moja (Kamala), and she told me about a situation in the city I live in, that I didn’t know about,” Skaff said. “They want their cultural food.”
In his role as police liaison with communities of color in Bowling Green, Skaff said it’s important to build relationships – including through food.
“We want to show that we’re here to help,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity for these students to see police involved in helping.”
Some international residents have difficulty asking for help with food, Kamala said.
“They feel shame in coming forward and saying they need help,” she said.
So when they do ask, it’s important that they be given foods they know how to prepare.
First United Methodist Church food pantry and BG Christian Food Pantry have worked to accommodate the needs of international residents, Kamala said.
“They are more conscientious when they order from the Toledo Food Bank,” she said.
Through the “International Friday” program, people can pick up international foods on the third Friday of every month, at the Welcome BG office in the downtown Four Corners building.
Following is a list of the food items that will be accepted, or purchased through donations:
- Oatmeal, rice, flour, sugar, milk, eggs, buttermilk, bread.
- Fresh fruits, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables like cabbage, okra, collard greens, carrots, green peppers, onions, spinach, kale and green onions.
- Nuts, pinto beans, lentils, soybeans.
- Canned tomato paste, cooking oil, meat (no pork).
- Corn meal (white: BRANDS-Bunge or Indian Head), gari, semo, fufu powder, and sorghum. These items are available at international markets and the Asian food market in Toledo.
Bowling Green food pantries try to identify the items found at international markets and order them when placing their orders at the Seagate Food Bank – but they are not always available, Kamala said.
That’s where the cash donations can help to purchase items that local food pantries don’t carry, she said.
Donations may be made to Welcome BG, 130 S. Main Street, Bowling Green, OH 43402. Anyone with questions may call 567-413-4003 or email welcomebgoh@gmail.com.
