Among various clubs at Woodside, Yum Club provides an opportunity for students to meet new people and learn about food.

Food insecurity and eating disorders are a big struggle that many face. According to USDA.gov, in recent years, about 17.3 percent of households experience food insecurity. Obesity has also been a big problem in the U.S. According to Frac.org, almost 40 percent of Americans are obese. Yum Club aims to create a community to acknowledge these problems and teach its members about healthy food habits.

“[A normal meeting] consists of a quick slide show presentation about dishes, healthy eating habits, or other food-related topics,” Yum Club Founder and senior Malin Petersson said. “Then we spin the wheel to randomly pick the next club member to bring food for our next meeting, then we eat.”

Yum Club was created in the 2022-2023 school year to provide a safe place where people could eat new foods and learn healthy eating habits. 

“We know that food can be a scary topic for some, and want to contribute to breaking down that barrier and hopefully have a positive impact on someone,” Petersson said.

Club meetings allow members to participate in several different fun activities. The club learns about food health before eating different foods and playing games.

“My favorite meeting was our last meeting of the semester,” Petersson said. “I brought snickerdoodle butterscotch cookies…and we played Pictionary after presenting our holiday food slides. [We] had tons of laughs.”

The club meets weekly in C-9 on the last A day of the week. Students can follow @whsyumclub on Instagram to get updates.

“It really is a great atmosphere and we have a lot of fun while getting to know new people and trying new foods,” Petersson said.