Kids and parents at Lake Contrary Elementary are learning to make healthy kid-friendly foods, like turkey kabobs and chicken salad, by attending a week-long cooking club that started on Monday.
“This is our third year doing a cooking class,” said Nona Miller, Lake Family Involvement Coordinator. “This year we wanted to focus on kid-friendly foods that kids could make by themselves without turning on a stove.” All meals are affordable and healthy.
Lake Contrary Elementary
Kids and parents meet from 3:30-5 PM each night after school to try out a new recipe. The club makes cooking fun, allowing kids to “play” with their food. For example, Tuesday night they competed to make the most unique open-faced bagel sandwiches. Kids got creative, making bagels into ships, clams, teepees and more.
The cooking club is taught through a partnership with Live Well St. Joseph, a group that focuses on a healthier community in St. Joseph. In addition to teaching kids about cooking, the Live Well team teaches kids about nutrition and simple steps to getting healthier.
For example, kids learn to eat fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors in order to get the nutrients in different types of vegetables. “It’s a fun way to focus on the food groups,” said Drew Bouge, Live Well School Coordinator.
Finally, Miller teaches kids some food- and kitchen-related life skills, including making a place setting, learning about table etiquette, and figuring out what different kitchen utensils are used for. “We hope to offer kids some additional life skills to take with them from this class,” she said.
Cooking club is part of an overall focus on health at Lake. “Three years ago when we started our community garden, we started an all-around health initiative,” said Lake Principal Dr. Jasmine Briedwell. “This includes cooking class, Fourth Grade Challenge and the Missouri Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.”
2013-2014 is the final year of the three-year Live Well grant, which also funded six community gardens at schools in St. Joseph, with two more in the works. Live Well is funded by a Social Innovation for Missouri grant through the Missouri Foundation for Health.