They can farm, and now they can cook, too! On July 24, apprentices from the Young Farmer Training Program (YFTP) graduated from our Cooking Matters course. Cooking Matters is an interactive, cooking-based nutrition program that equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve their nutrition practices, eating habits, and food budgeting skills. The first day, volunteer Chef James taught the apprentices all about the process of making pizza dough. To demonstrate, the teens were turned into human gluten, forming the elastic network that traps the carbon dioxide gas released by the yeast. Eventually, everyone turned back into teens who really love to eat yummy, healthy pizza!
Over the six week course, YFTP apprentices chopped fresh tomatoes to make salsa, processed basil into pesto, and transformed sage into a savory topping. With volunteer Chef James, they baked, mixed, stirred, and poured their energy into the creation of healthy meals using produce fresh from our Wake County Teaching Farm. Our nutrition volunteers Anne and Laura taught the apprentices about whole grains, making choices about fats in our food, and how to read nutrition labels. The apprentices left the course armed with the knowledge to make healthy food choices and the kitchen skills and recipes to create masterful culinary dishes for their families and friends from what they grow.
If you would like to volunteer and be part of a class as a chef, nutritionist, or class support, contact nutrition@foodshuttle.org. You can also volunteer as a cooking intern for the Young Farmer Training Program and help provide our Young Farmers with nutritious meals during their work days on the farm. Email Ricky@foodshuttle.org for more information.