My Full Story
About Me
Hi again, my name is Maia Berges Voorhis and I am a current senior in high school and a part of a selective senior research project focusing on nutrient-dense recipe development for non-profit food kitchens. Growing up in downtown DC, which has one of the highest homelessness rates in the United States—especially for families, veterans, and unhoused youth—I witnessed firsthand the deep inequities in access to basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare. One problem in the unhoused system is the lack of nutritious meals accessible to all, especially those with dietary restrictions such as having a vegan/vegetarian based diet. By doing I hope to address immediate hunger in DC and promote long term wellness for the unhoused population. While the main research from this project will be explained in a separate blog account, this website will be my recipe library where I will share my nutrient dense recipe ideas that anyone can try to re-create, even from the comfort of their own home.
My Culinary Journey
When reading this, you may think to yourself: "well can she actually cook?" The short and long answer is YES, and very well. Starting young, I became obsessed with the culinary world, and used to binge cooking shows like Chopt and Iron Chef America religiously. I would cook so often that I auditioned for top chef Jr. at 12 getting 2 callbacks, but eventually having to drop out before bootcamp due to my demanding academic schedule. Besides that, I interned at a non-profit focused on promoting plant based recipes where I actually developed easy vegan recipes for everyone to make.
Vision
I hope that this websites helps spread knowledge about the amazing dishes and health benefits that can vegan and vegetarian meals can provide. I also hope that food food kitchens like Miriam's Kitchen are able to use some of these recipes in their everyday meal planning to provide dishes that are nutrient-dense and delicious, for everyone not just those that consume meat.
