Steven Cota-Robles, the founder of the Tucson Family food project, was working at Whole Foods when he decided to drop everything in 2020 for his mission.
“I quit my job, sold my house and never looked back,” says Cota-Robles, a fourth-generation Tucsonan and a self-professed “total Tucson guy” who believes in the power of social media to disrupt the cycle of poverty in Tucson.
The project’s new campaign, “Feed the Kids,” uses the power of social media to teach kids experiencing food insecurity how to cook their own meals.
Cota-Robles said he believes that when a kid knows how to cook, they can provide for themselves and their whole family, giving them the power to enact change in their lives and prepare themselves for the real world.
Cota-Robles is partnering with community leaders, including James Beard Award-winning Barrio Bread baker Don Guerra, Tucson celebrity chef Maria Mazon of BOCA, the Tucson Roadrunners and the Food Conspiracy Co-Op Inc. Additionally, murals will be painted around Tucson to spread the message.
“Our education system is built around the assumption that all of the kids are fed,” said Cota-Robles.
Often kids are home alone, and this project will give them the skills to make delicious and healthy meals for themselves.
Tucson ranks high among food insecurity statistics in America, according to Feeding America. The same study says 70% of children in Pima County are eligible for nutrition programs. There were estimated to be 41,880 Tucson children experiencing food insecurity in 2022.
The Tucson Family Food Project website reported that children who experience food insecurity are more likely to be suspended, repeat a grade, have higher absence rates and perform worse on standardized tests.
The Tucson Family Food project knows that signs of food insecurity can often be invisible, and this project makes way for a non-judgmental and fun approach to giving kids the food they need.
Currently, the project serves Ameri Schools Academy, Imago Dei and Laguna Elementary School. Next year the project is expanding to Safford K through eight, which is 100% on free lunch.
Cota-Robles and his team will feed about 280 sixth, seventh and eighth graders next year at only $4 per meal.
Cota-Robles even described the Tucson Family Food project as a type of crime prevention because kids don’t have to go to extreme measures to obtain food.
Additionally, the family food project sees families bond in ways they never had before in the kitchen.
“I (cook) with my mom,” said 11-year-old Azariah Sims. “Like it’s a special moment.”
Tucson Family Food Project offers in-person and online YouTube tutorials to show kids what to do with fresh ingredients.
“You give them the skills and they know, even if they are home alone, that they are still able to do it,” Cota-Robles said, “It goes a long way for them.”
They plan to expand to every kid in Tucson, including job placement and knife skills for older kids.
They are using primarily Facebook and Instagram, along with the large followings of their partners, to promote the project.
Through this promotion, Cota-Robles is confident that “ending childhood food insecurity is not only possible, it’s reasonable… but we have to think outside of the box.”
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