Youth Cooking Program
Youth Cooking Pilot Program
Our youth cooking pilot program hosts cooking classes for 14-18 year olds with the goal of teaching basic kitchen skills and recipes while instilling the value of supporting their local food system. Our goal is for youth to know how to confidently source fresh food and prepare a healthy meal by the end of the course!
What participants learn:
- Students are introduced to various culinary skills from a professional chef as they prepare healthy meals with crops sourced from local farms.
- From kitchen safety and knife skills to the art of sauteing and plate presentation, students walk away with a new appreciation for enjoying fresh, healthy food.
- We also discuss sustainability in relation to food choices, addressing topics like seasonality and the health benefits of eating whole foods.
- Offering a chance to experience what it takes to grow food and harvest fresh bounty, we visit a local farm where we work side by side with a farmer and see what is growing locally and why.
What’s Next?
Our vision is for programs like this one to engage our youth and wider community in the local food system while building culinary career skills.
We are striving to build interest in the creation of a program that supplies healthy meals to those who need it most. Inspired by Ceres Community Project in Sonoma County, we would like to bring Solano County access to medically tailored meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients and made by local community members for those who are chronically ill. With a recent bill passed that allows insurance companies to cover the cost of these meals, we see a vital opportunity to bring our community access to healthy, locally sourced food prepared by fellow community members.
From workforce development to youth volunteers experiencing giving back with a purpose, we believe this program could offer many long-term benefits to Solano County.
Interested in bringing a youth cooking program to your organization or helping us with this larger vision? Contact Program Manager Lauren Gucik at lauren@sustainablesolano.org
Learn More
Thanks to our wonderful CSA Volunteers!
Starting this past October, Veronica Bearce, Susan Neuhaus, and Annette Batchelor have been managing the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in Benicia. If you pick up farm-fresh food on Wednesdays at Heritage Presbyterian Church, say THANK YOU to these...
The Future of Food: A Community Conversation in Benicia
By Stephanie Oeslgigie Jordan, Project Manager, Chef Can a community decide how it will access food for its members? Is there democratic participation in our food system? What mindsets frame the future of our local food systems? These...
USDA Local Food Project Update
By Stephanie Oesligie Jordan, Project Manager, Chef On October 25, Sustainable Solano kicked off it’s “Solano Community Food Centers” planning grant – funded by USDA -with an Advisory Board meeting in Benicia, CA. Attending the meeting were an enthusiastic...