Cultural Meals Program
BACKGROUND
To better serve our diverse community of clients, Open Arms started a Cultural Meals Program in 2022 to develop accessible and culturally appropriate medically tailored meals to serve Hmong, Latinx, and East African clients who are disproportionately impacted by severe illnesses.
TIMELINE
HMONG MENU
EAST AFRICAN MENU
LATINX MENU
Soft Launch: June 2023
Full Menu: November 2023
Soft Launch: September 2024
Full Menu: November 2024
Soft Launch: February 2025
Full Menu: May 2025
PROCESS
Open Arms started a Cultural Meals Program in 2022 to develop accessible and culturally appropriate medically tailored meals to serve Hmong, Latinx, and East African clients who are disproportionately impacted by severe illnesses.
MENU OVERVIEWS
HMONG MENU
This menu includes only Hmong cuisine specific meals, is salt and carbohydrate controlled and supports a range of health needs. This menu is dairy free and features a variety of proteins such as Pork, Chicken, Fish, Beef, and Tofu.
Meal Examples
- Spicy Beef with Cabbage and Tomatoes, White Rice and Steamed Green Beans
- Pork with Sour Bamboo, White Rice, Sauteed Mustard Greens
- Pork Larb with Sweet Rice Noodles
Maiah Thao
Hmong Culinary Consultant
Maiah has worked in the social services field for more than 30 years. Her passion for cooking started in her family’s kitchen when she was 10 years old where she developed a passion for cooking home cooked meals through family gatherings and community events. She previously owned a grocery store that included Hmong deli food. This experience gave Maiah insight about catering to all ethnicities. With a love for creating extraordinary flavorful and traditional Hmong food, it’s all about simplicity and approachable delicious food that she is proud to serve, “I truly believe food brings everyone together.”
EAST AFRICAN MENU
This menu includes dishes and flavors from a variety of cuisines throughout Eastern Africa. This menu includes various protein sources such as beef, chicken, fish, beans, and lentils. With controlled amounts of sodium, saturated fat and carbohydrates, this menu is heart healthy, diabetic friendly and supports a range of health needs.
Meal Examples
- Coconut Roasted Chicken with Mukimo and Sauteed Collard Greens
- Somali Style Lasagna with Berbere Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Doro Wat with Stewed Potato and Cabbage, Fresh Tomato Salad
Jamal Hashi
East African Culinary Consultant
Chef Jamal Hashi leads diverse teams and drives creative menus, recipes, products, and merchandising services from conception to fruition, with a keen eye for strategy, research, and design. He has spent 22 years in the restaurant industry and has created concepts for 13 different restaurants. His work has been recognized by the international community. Chef Jamal has most recently participated as a guest chef at several New York City restaurants to introduce and fuse contemporary East African flavors into mainstream menus.
LATINX MENU
Menu description coming soon…
Soleil Ramirez
Latinx Culinary Consultant
Soleil Ramirez is the chef and owner of Arepa Bar in Minneapolis, the only 100% traditional restaurant I the Twin Cities. She has been around the kitchen for over 15 years. Her experience and knowledge about food and fine dining in different countries around the world became the framework for opening her own restaurant.
