Drum Roll Please: Celebrating the End of an Amazing EMPWR Year

EMPWR wrapped up the year with a joyful end-of-year celebration at the Phoenix Children’s Museum, bringing together families, volunteers, students, and community partners for one final cooking class before summer.

The day was fun, energetic, and a little chaotic — exactly the kind of celebration that reminds us why this work matters. Families gathered around as Chef Mario led everyone through making Navajo Black Bean Burgers with blue corn tortillas, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.

One of the best moments of the day happened while the kids were rolling out the dough for their tortillas. As they pressed the dough flat, they suddenly started pounding the dough and the table while chanting, “Drum roll please!” It was spontaneous, loud, and full of laughter — the perfect symbol of the joy and excitement that filled the room.

For our nutrition tip, we focused on the benefits of making a grocery list before going shopping. We talked about how grocery stores are full of foods like candy, sweets, and snacks that are designed to grab our attention. Having a list helps families stay focused, plan healthier meals, prioritize ingredients, and make shopping feel less overwhelming. To keep the lesson going into the summer, we challenged families to send us pictures of their grocery lists.

We are incredibly grateful to the Phoenix Children’s Museum for generously providing the space for free and giving admission to all of our families. Their support helped make the celebration feel extra special.

We also want to thank Chef Mario for a wonderful year of guiding our families through meaningful, healthy, and culturally connected recipes. His storytelling, patience, and creativity have made each class memorable. Thank you to Marthafor helping serve as a liaison with the Madison School District, and to all of the families and volunteers who showed up, cooked, laughed, helped clean, encouraged the kids, and made this year possible.

A special thank you as well to the ASU students who created the beautiful resource books for our families. These books will help families continue learning, cooking, and building healthy habits at home.

This year has been filled with new recipes, shared meals, community, and so many moments of joy. We loved every minute of it, and we are already looking forward to more EMPWR classes in the fall.