Hispanic Heritage Month 2022

Martin Luther King Junior Prep Makes Tortillas

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the students at Martin Luther King College Prep, were joined by Miss Juanita to make tortillas from scratch. With just two ingredients – Masa and water – the students mixed and pressed the dough, then grilled the tortillas and tried them with various fillings.

Meyer Renolds, Director of School Engagement at Martin Luther King College Prep, explained that the Agriculture Lab (AG) is a new addition to the school community. "We started it up last year as an opportunity to extend our students' learning in the Sciences with more hands-on, concrete experiences," said Brian Kelly, the school's principal.

One of the unique aspects of the school's Farm to School program is the opportunity it provides for students – 95% of whom are African-American – to learn about different cultures. "We're trying to provide learning and experiences that can be used outside of our environment, and the AG lab provides that opportunity," said Kelly.

In the AG lab, students learned about the entire process of making tortillas commercially, from start to finish, including food systems, production, and processing. Did you know that the first tortilla was served around 10,000 BC, and that the word "tortilla" means "little cake"?

Kelly believes that the AG lab and the Farm to School program are providing students with essential experiences that will prepare them for success in post-secondary education and beyond. "I think we're embarking on something essentially new and fundamental," he said.

One student shared her thoughts on the experience: "Seeing how it was made and seeing the ingredients used and hearing the history was all very interesting – I really like the program and I think it's very cool because I've always wanted to do stuff that's agricultural." It's clear that the students at Martin Luther King College Prep are enjoying and learning from this unique opportunity.