The Functionally Integrated classroom at John Paul II Collegiate in North Battleford recently acquired some new cooking skills, thanks to a Students in the Kitchen cooking class facilitated by Midwest Food Resources.
Executive Director Debbie Bonsan says the students did three sessions of about an hour and half each.
"They took some menu planning and then did the food prep and took meals home to their families," says Bonsan. "It was really a lot of fun."
The goal of Midwest Food Resources is to bring healthy food experiences to all, and offering collective cooking groups helps people make healthy decisions and learn important skills.
The JPII students participating were all at various skill levels as far as making food choices goes, but they really enjoyed it, she says.
"We do a follow up survey to see what they thought of the program and one of the students drew this awesome picture of their favourite recipe.
"They all got a certificate when they finished," she adds.
What did they cook? Pizza, chicken, Caesar salad, linguine and meatballs – and, as usual, they developed their own recipes in order to come up with combinations of recommended food groups that everyone agreed upon.
Normally, says Bonsan, a Students in the Kitchen program runs four to six weeks.
"But because of February break and all the other things going on with them and us, we ended up doing three weeks."
Still, they got to take the food home to their family and show them their great cooking skills, she says.
"They were really happy about that part."
There were six students involved. On behalf of Midwest Food Resources, Bonsan was the facilitator, working with the FI class teacher Rhea Good and several education assistants.
Bonsan says they've also been running cooking groups at Bready School.
"We had such a overwhelming response for kids signing up for it we have done two back-to-back sessions with them."
They've also run back-to-back Kids in the Kitchen groups at the Battlefords Boys and Girls Club.
"Usually we would have done one fall and one winter," she points out.
One of the great things about Students in the Kitchen and Kids in the Kitchen is how the participants develop their recipes in order to meet the criteria of healthy eating but meeting everyone's preferences.
"All the food has to be by consensus," she explains.
She has seen a pizza with cauliflower and corn, and even spaghetti sauce that had peas and carrots in it, "because those were the vegetables they all agreed they would eat," she laughs.
Midwest Food Resources works out of an office at 10202 - 11th Ave. in North Battleford. They also have offices in Turtleford, Lloydminster and Meadow Lake
In North Battleford, regular house of operation are in place with the addition of Joany Gunville to their staff just over two weeks ago.
She will be the office person, allowing them to be open regular hours Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bonsan says it's been difficult, without regular hours, to get in contact.
"People say they love our programs and they want to get involved, but they can't get a hold of us."
Gunville has visited the Meadow Lake and Lloydminster offices and has had a chance to observe some of the programs in action, including Kids in the Kitchen.
"I thought it was great," says Gunville. "I just think it gets them all working together and cooking healthy meals."
Midwest Food Resources has also partnered with North West Regional College, and will be facilitating adult cooking groups there March 18 and 19. They will be doing menu planning, shopping, prep and cleanup with two groups in two separate all day session.
Midwest Food Resources is a non-profit registered charity run by a volunteer board of directors. The goal of Midwest Food Resources is to bring healthy food experiences to all. For many, eating well can be difficult, sometimes impacted by the cost and availability of healthy foods as well as a need for cooking skills. Regular cooking groups make up an important component of Midwest Food Resources programming.
Since its inception in 1997, Midwest Food Resources has been offering collective kitchen programs in the Battlefords, expanding to Lloydminster, Meadow Lake and Turtleford in its second year.
The Fresh Food Box program is also one of Midwest Food Resources most successful ventures. The program is open to anyone, at all income levels. It's an easy way to add more fruits and vegetables to a family's diet.
One of Midwest's newest programs, about to go into its sixth year, is a community garden project. The garden is located on Gagne Avenue, using land provided by the City of North Battleford.
