Cooking into a Brighter Future
The lessons learned in our Demonstration Kitchen range greatly.
Some participants pick up a potato peeler for the first time in their lives; other participants experiment with reducing the amount of salt in a dish and replacing it with other spices and herbs. Some individuals can homemade jam or hand-roll a pie for the first time.
And sometimes participants like Carol learn to find hope.
While getting groceries from our food pantry, Carol was invited to join our first meal planning and budget shopping series. Participants in the five-class series learn how to reduce grocery costs, serve nutritious meals and cut cooking time. Lots of conversations and brainstorming occurred as participants and volunteer mentors shared ideas to help each other.
But Carol, an older woman who hadn’t worked in more than a year and was struggling to feed several adults with limited food resources, gained something else.
“I started the class feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to even eat anymore,” she says. “I was struggling to find ways to create tasty meals out of the resources I have. Eating didn’t even appeal to me anymore.”
The class helped Carol identify simple strategies to turn available resources into different dishes that offered a bright spot in the day instead of a depressing moment.
“Those conversations gave me hope that things could change,” she says.
Things didn’t change overnight, and things are still challenging.
But after that class, Carol went on to update her resume and apply for jobs and volunteer in the demo kitchen to help others learn life skills even as income remains tight, cars break down and home repairs need made.
“That class gave me hope that things can and do change,” she says.
