What happens when you get 15 strangers in the same kitchen with green aprons, chef knives and a volunteer chef instructor? You make delicious pumpkin muffins and barley jambalaya! We are excited to announce that on Tuesday January 15, we hosted and taught Clark County Food Bank’s first Cooking Matters class. The class was complete with discussion centered on MyPlate, tips for making healthy food choices, the importance of physical activity and free groceries! Each class participant was given the necessary groceries to replicate one of the classroom recipes for themselves and/or their family members at home. The class is part of a six-week series so we look forward to continued cooking and nutrition education with these eager students!
The Cooking Matters program is a national program produced through Share Our Strength which teaches kids and parents important lessons about self-sufficiency in the kitchen. Participants practice fundamental lessons including knife skills, reading ingredient labels, cutting up a whole chicken, and making a healthy meal for a family of four on a $10 budget. Volunteer course chef and nutrition instructors teach cooking skills, practical nutrition information and food budgeting strategies that will last a lifetime, thus reducing the chance of needing food assistance. Adults and teens take home a bag of groceries after each class so they can practice the recipes taught that day.
The goal of the Clark County Nutrition Education program is to continue to expand the Cooking Matters courses throughout the county by holding classes at various locations. We also hope to train volunteer chef and nutrition instructors, shoppers and lead assistants to allow more classes to be taught simultaneously. If you are interested in finding out more about how you might be involved and trained as a volunteer for this program, please contact our Nutrition Education team at nutrition@clarkcountyfoodbank.org or 360-693-0939.
Stay tuned for more fun stories and excitement regarding these classes…and recipes we use in class!
Follow these links to try your hand at the recipes we used in Tuesday’s Cooking Matters class
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