Exploring beyond the kitchen

FORT MADISON - Exploration never ends. Whether it’s trying new recipes, picking up hobbies, experimenting with different learning methods, adopting new mindsets, or finding ways to connect with the community, Kaleb Wischmeier embodies exploration in human form. While exploring and learning may not come naturally to everyone, each day offers opportunities for growth. 
Wischmeier had the opportunity recently to move into the administrator role at the YMCA Test Kitchen, a nonprofit that opened its doors in 2015, connecting food and engaged learning for kids. The organization, located in downtown Fort Madison, offers free, after-school programming for students in the local and surrounding areas four days a week.  
“[Our after-school programming] is a rotating set of programs that we like to change and keep interesting so the kids can learn a variety of topics. We present [topics] in a way different from how a school does. We try to recruit former teachers, retired and current teachers, and say, ‘Do what you would normally do, but give it a different spin and make it more fun and in a way that like a fourth grader or a fifth grader, who just got done with a long day of school, can come in and still want to [learn],’” Wischmeier said. 
The Test Kitchen encourages kids to expand their knowledge and explore their learning in a fun way. Wischmeier understands this community needs help at times:
“[The Test Kitchen] wants to do everything that we can to keep these programs accessible for [our area]. We want to keep that same vision this place has always had: Learning is free and for everybody.”
Before teaching two years of cooking classes at the Test Kitchen, Wischmeier worked for a Nashville-based nonprofit named Patchwork, which was dedicated to community outreach.  
"We fed people in the community in need up to 3,000 meals per week. We distributed to local nonprofits, low-income housing facilities, and medical facilities, and we made healthy packaged meals using locally sourced ingredients,” Wischmeier said.
The nonprofit also had a cooking class program, Cafe Momentum, to work with teenagers in the juvenile detention system: to build their skills, experience, and encourage them toward a good path. Wischmeier started teaching approximately ten teenagers in this program every week.  
Coming from Fort Madison, Wischmeier describes parts of Nashville as a culture shock: “These kids had tough lives–they’ve been through a lot. [Hearing about their lives] really made me see that their circumstances are what led them to go down that path. They are really good, kind-hearted people. I think a lot of people who are in that situation have just made some decisions that put them in a bad spot.”
He also contributed to a cooking program at a center, Dismas House, helping men transition back into the community after incarceration. For Wischmeier, teaching basic cooking skills was only part of the experience. Food became a way to connect with people and see life through their lens.  
“Anthony Bourdain had this thing where he said, ‘Don't be a tourist, be a traveler.’ Instead of going to a place and doing all the tourist traps, talk with a local and see what you can learn from them. His whole thing was fostering a community with people everywhere he went, and this is the way I have tried to live my life, every day. That is also the lens I view food through,” said Wischmeier.
When he returned to Fort Madison, Wischmeier was grateful to find a nonprofit where he could continue his work with a local focus.  
Wischmeier said he finds great joy in introducing new foods to skeptical, “picky” eaters and watching them discover they actually enjoy them.
“Food creates community. Food is a huge component of community. Everybody eats. I think everybody has a story to tell through food," he said. "I love seeing people get excited about food and getting excited about [meals] that they're either cooking or [food] that they've eaten.” Wischmeier, outside of food, has tried getting outside of his comfort zone with new hobbies.  
Per his girlfriend’s influence, Wischmeier is currently learning how to crochet. People can be prone to giving up on something they are not naturally good at. We don’t always give ourselves the chance to be successful in a hobby that interests us. Wischmeier pushed past this in crochet.
“I was getting frustrated with myself for a while and thought, I can’t do this. I’m not good at this, and then I figured it out,” he said.  

Wischmeier continues to find his little pockets of community while exploring new interests, including local theater. Last year, he asked a woman at his church, who was involved with the Old Fort Players, if there were any roles needed for an upcoming play. Wischmeier decided to show up for auditions.
“I went out for it and got a part. I discovered that this was something I really wanted to do, because it was so much fun,” he said.  
In his first role, Wischmeier played a grumpy, aggressive character in And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, a play set in the 1970s. Wischmeier considers himself a calm, level-headed person in real life; the experience pushed him outside of his comfort zone.
“I got to tap into a side of me that does not come out very often. It was interesting to try my hand at acting that way. You can kind of step away from yourself for a moment and be something completely different, which is really cool," he said.
Wischmeier has since been a part of the Old Fort Players' show based on The Carol Burnett Show and wants to continue being more involved with the theater.  
Due to his exploring various interests in his personal life, Wischmeier has begun to encourage students to do the same with expanded programming offerings at the Test Kitchen. In addition to the Test Kitchen’s cooking classes, STREAM nights (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math & Music), and Monday Mashups (history, chess, and more), Wischmeier is set on introducing even more opportunities. His plans include financial literacy lessons, health and fitness programming, and a partnership with Old Fort Players to bring more local theater experiences to students.  
Wischmeier’s vision for the Test Kitchen is to expand partnerships with local businesses and foster a stronger sense of collaboration and connection.
“We need to rely on each other more; even as a downtown business district, I think it’s really important,” he said.
Wischmeier thinks it is also important to connect over shared meals:
“Life gets so busy; people work various shifts; and some of these kids maybe don't have an opportunity to sit down and have dinner with their family. Every single night we sit down and have a meal together, because I feel like in a way that's a lost thing for a lot of families,” he said.  
Wischmeier feels that a connection beyond family is important in our small town, especially after growing up in this community. Like many others, after graduating high school, Wischmeier wanted to leave, to try something new. He discovered Fort Madison had more of a pull on him than he originally thought:
“There’s just a different feeling here when you’re in your hometown. I have a new fondness for [Fort Madison]. I realize, too, that every place you go to has its problems, but every place you go to also has things that make it beautiful, too," he said.
Wischmeier said he thinks we need to dig deeper into emotional connection. 
Growing up in the Midwest, Wischmeier noticed a lack of mental health resources. “We’re almost, in a way, taught to suppress some of our more complicated emotions, which I think can lead to a lot of problems down the road when it comes to creating meaningful relationships. I try to invite more vulnerability and have deeper conversations with people beyond the surface,” he said.
Wischmeier believes that embracing vulnerability and kindness, both within ourselves and with others, builds growth and allows us to be our authentic selves.  
Finding his footing by expanding his horizons through food, hobbies, community involvement, and conversation has been part of his success. Wischmeier doesn’t fear vulnerability. He pushed past discomfort and found joy in the newness. Kaleb shared his life philosophy quote from Bourdain, and it resonated with me, so here’s mine from my favorite movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:  - “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” Go explore.  
Say hi to Kaleb Wischmeier at the upcoming Open House at the Test Kitchen on Monday, September 8. Check out this year’s first Music Night, featuring Hailey Ramatowski on September 12. Wischmeier plans on having a food plate option during Porchstock, September 20. Keep your eye out for upcoming shows at the Old Fort Players.