The Culinary Club celebrates diversity through food as well as healthy eating and living. Students receive a recipe a week that we experience from start to finish together. The Culinary Club’s mission is to make sure that the most vulnerable have access to cooking ingredients and are able to participate properly in developing healthy eating habits. At the end of the program, students will get a printed copy, made in house, of their cookbook. In these trying times, this is a small grace to provide for our students.

We began this club last November with 65 signing up and about 20 students participating each week. The larger group meets over Zoom on Wednesdays at 11:30 am. We also have a small group that meets on Sundays at 4:00 pm to cook together. This is optional as they have the video and a recipe to follow. We provide the students who need the ingredients the choice to pick-up at the school or to be delivered. The largest cost is the food. I have been selecting meals based on budget available and student need. On average the costs are about $150 per week and we have about 8 - 10 students requesting ingredients every week. There are some meals that I would like to do that would cost more, though. We will also be spending money on printing their books at the end of the program. I also hope to provide cooking prizes if we raise enough money.

I have had very positive feedback from staff, parents, and kids. Lots of people are volunteering their time and helping. I have parents in the background helping their kids cook on Sundays. The students are doing a great job adding their own recipes as well as the ones being provided.

Living a healthy life requires eating a healthy, balanced diet. Educational budget cuts have reduced the opportunities for students to develop and experience the joy of cooking. Everyone needs to learn how to prepare meals they enjoy eating. Too often people rely on the convenience of fast food. This mindset can plague all families but more often impacts lower socioeconomic families, creating long-term health problems that are passed down from generation to generation.

I was inspired to create the Culinary Club because I want to share with my students and their families basic cooking skills and my appreciation for cooking that I got from my parents. When I was about 8, I asked them a question along the lines of, "When I grow up and you guys move out," and that was as far as I got. I was abruptly stopped by my parents when they explained to me that I was the one who would be moving out. My response was simple: "I sure hope you teach me to cook before you kick me out." From that point on, cooking was one of the chores that was added to our list of responsibilities. Once a week we had to help cook dinner. I want my students to experience the joy and pride I found preparing meals with and for their families. It is my hope that this will lead to more family dinners and less eating out. It will also give them a lifelong skill that they can use now and in the future.