Flint, MI—Applesauce and bananas may not be the first ingredients that come to mind for carrot cake muffins, but as a handful of young Flint-area residents learned over the weekend at a pop-up baking class hosted by Flint Kids Cook, they can serve as alternative ingredients to make sweet treats a bit healthier.

“I love the idea of being able to teach kids life skills, learning how to cook, learning how to make healthy meals, especially as a way to grow up healthy and develop these healthy habits and skills that they can take with them throughout their life,” said Sarah Egan, the project coordinator at Flint Kids Cook.

Flint Kids Cook is part of the Pediatric Public Health Initiative, a project launched in 2016 by Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital advocating for the continued health of children in Flint. The project originally aimed to mitigate the negative health effects of lead exposure in the wake of the Flint water crisis.

Now, Flint Kids Cook offers free in-person and virtual cooking classes for kids aged 8 to 18 throughout the year. Parents that want to sign their children up can do so on the project’s website or Facebook page.

The class on Saturday, however, was a pop-up, meaning that there was no registration and anyone who showed up could get right to baking. Egan said she and Chef Tina Barnett got the idea for a pop-up from a family in one of their virtual classes who wanted to meet them and foster more of a “community feeling.”

“We have the cooking class and the baking class, but sometimes people still want to do more,” she said. “So we thought this would be an opportunity to connect with those kids that have already been through all of our programs, and want to see us again.”

Chef Tina Barnett prepares ingredients for the first group of bakers during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Carrot cake muffins wait to be frosted during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
A baking pan with carrots, eggs and a banana, all ingredients for carrot cake muffins, rest on the counter during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Chef Tina Barnett (left) smiles while Drewin Prescott (right) mashes a banana to make carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Lisa Pasbjerg (right), the outreach and engagement coordinator at the Flint Registry, helps Armon Horton grate a carrot while Simeon McLemore (left) and Alaysia Triplett (right) watch during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Armon Horton measures olive oil for the batter to make carrot cake muffins while Alaysia Triplett (left) takes a video on her phone during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Sarah Egan, the project coordinator at Flint Kids Cook, talks with kids the first group of bakers while they mash a banana to make carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Kayla mashes a banana to make carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Kaden mashes a banana to make carrot cake muffins with frosting and sprinkles during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Chef Tina Barnett (left) and Lisa Pasbjerg (right), the outreach and engagement coordinator at the Flint Registry, help Drewin Prescott, Kaelyn Welcome, Ellie Sopka and Kayla grate carrots for carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
A peeler and carrot skins rest on the counter during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Chef Tina Barnett (right) helps Natalia (center) mash a banana while Ellie (left) grates a carrot to make carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Armon Horton (left) and Alaysia Triplett (right) get ready to make carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Kayla (left) Ellie Sopka (center) and Kaelyn Welcome (right) read instructions for carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Armon Horton adds a scoop of applesauce to batter for carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Drewin Prescott mixes oats into batter for carrot cake muffins during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Carrot cake muffins wait to be frosted during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Sarah Egan (left), the project coordinator at Flint Kids Cook, talks with Ellie (center, left) while Chef Tina Barnett (right) and Natalia (center, right) scoop batter for carrot cake muffins into a baking pan during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
From left to right, Lily Stanley, Riley Caldwell, Drewin Prescott and Ja’Maya decorate carrot cake muffins with frosting and sprinkles during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Finished carrot cake muffins rest on the counter during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)
Drewin Prescott places down a finished carrot cake muffin during the Flint Kids Cook pop-up event at the Flint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (Michael Indriolo | Flint Beat)

Michael is Flint Beat’s multimedia journalist. He joined the team as a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered...