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.
Video Feature
Program Slideshow
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
2023 Fairfield & Suisun City Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour & Healthy Local Food Showcase is May 6!
Join us for the Fairfield-Suisun City Demonstration Food Forest Tour and Celebrating Healthy Local Food: A Culinary and Garden Showcase on Saturday, May 6!
Lentils in War & Peace
As a comforting, versatile food quick enough for weeknight cooking, lentils will keep you well fed all winter. But they’re good to eat at any time. People in many countries eat lentils to ensure prosperity in the year to come. Canada is the world’s leading producer and exporter of lentils. In India, 6.3 million tons of lentils are produced in a year.
Armijo High Students Reflect on Healthy Local Food
The Healthy Local Food program at Armijo High in Fairfield brings together 30 students each week to learn about healthy, seasonal, local food in both the school garden and culinary sessions. Students will share what they have learned through final multimedia projects. Here, two students in the program reflect on their early experiences.