About Us
Food at the Center partners with individuals, families, and organizations to offer reflective cooking and mealtime experiences that support those navigating stress, grief, and transitions in life.
Food at the Center was founded by Dr. Michelle Beadle Holder. Much of the work is shaped by her family history of high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as her own experience managing grief, anxiety, and depression. These experiences led Dr. Holder to create salt-free spice blends, comforting lentil soup mixes, and wellness programs that support both heart health and emotional well-being.
Whether through a workshop, a guided cooking session, or a simple pot of soup, Dr. Holder’s work helps clients slow down, nourish themselves, and build lasting wellness, starting in the kitchen.
Dr. Holder teaches about the culinary influences of Africa in the US and Caribbean cooking.
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
Past Community Projects
In 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our founder joined forces with her mother, Clover (aka Mong-ga) to conduct a 6 month live virtual cooking class. They called the class Cooking with Mong-ga.
In 2019, Michelle Beadle Holder, Ph.D., taught mindful eating as part of a one-day women’s retreat at the Newark Center for Meditative Culture. The retreat focused on how to use mindfulness practices as an approach to self-care and inspired the development of our mindful plates daily curriculum.
Above is a picture of the mother and daughter team demonstrating how to prepare homemade Jamaican ginger beer, a popular non-alcohol beverage. This class was part of the larger 6-month virtual cooking class called, Cooking with Mong-ga. Other dishes prepared included jerk salmon, cabbage, stuffed butternut squash, jerk bean chili, and Jamaican rice and peas.
An Introduction to African Culinary Heritage. Michelle Beadle Holder, Ph.D., taught a three-part series at the Howard County Library System (HCLS). This program supplemented the Millers Branch’s Cultural Connection Garden Project and offered insights into the African Diaspora version of the Mediterranean Diet.