“They will be served good and they will learn how to make good food.” Leave it to Mrs. Ozella Falls, the first “chef” and namesake of the newly refurbished commercial kitchen at the SAY Detroit Play Center, to get to the heart of today’s special celebration.
Thanks to a donation from the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation, SAY Detroit’s ongoing committing to teaching healthy habits and preparing its students to learn to the best of their ability took the next step with the unveiling and dedication of an expanded by 1,200 square feet with the addition of a new state-of-the-art kitchen. Representatives from the Foundation, who advocated to rename the space in Mrs. Falls’ honor, SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom and SAY Detroit leadership and staff were on hand for a special ceremony to mark the occasion. In light of the special day, a supped up menu for students and visitors included a baked potato bar, steak paella, San Cochoa (Soup), Mrs. Falls Lemon Meringue Pie, assorted cookies and cheese cake, and infused lemonade.
Since its opening in 2015, SAY Play determined that the children attending its afterschool program (and later its summer camp) would receive a hot meal and snacks. Hungry children cannot learn, and it is essential that a nutritious meal powers the rest of their afternoon of learning that the center. Mrs. Falls, then, became a recognizable motherly and grandmotherly figure that welcomed them “home.” She initially served pre-made meals and never really thought of herself as a cook until an early, off-hand conversation changed both her menu choices and her relationship with the children at the center. As she tells it,
“One day I asked one of the boys, ‘Would you care for some salad? ’The boy looked at me and said, ‘I’ve never had a salad before.’ That conversation did something to me. At that moment, I felt like I needed to cook for the children.”
She would make extra salad for this boy daily until one day, he told her, “Please, Mrs. Falls. That’s enough salad!”
Born on May 12, 1938, in Detroit, she worked at SAY Play until, as she says, “COVID retired me,” and if she could, she would “still be here because that much love that I felt from this place.”
The upgraded space includes commercial-grade cooking equipment, a walk-in refrigerator and freezer, a ConvoTherm dual oven, a dedicated dish room (no more paper plates!), and more — allowing us to better serve the hundreds of students and staff members fed each day during the school year and summer.
Beyond daily meals, the new space will be the home for a developing culinary arts academy with curricula for life-skills development, healthy cooking and eating, nutrition education, and other interdisciplinary learning, for example, that incorporates the raised garden beds in SAY Play’s backyard.
As the plaque that honors and names The Mrs. Falls Kitchen states, it is a place to learn, grow — and eat!
