Cooking Matters: Building Food leaders From the Seed to the Table

Discussing the ways in which they can be leaders of the good food movement, several Junior Farm Crew participants shared ambitions from being chefs and restaurant owners who incorporate fresh farm and garden produce. One member stressed the importance of providing both family and neighbors with veggies like the ones they have grown and harvested at EarthDance: organic, local, and sustainable. Unanimously, their heads nodded.

Cooking Matters is one of the many hands-on educational experiences that have prepared our Junior Farm Crew for future food leadership. Led by our dietetics interns, the class features nutrition and cooking lessons in which JFC members incorporate produce that they harvest from the farm into a variety of dishes, usually 3 per class. Some meals they have prepared: melon/cucumber smoothies; frittatas with a variety of produce from around the farm including kale, chard, squash, and dill flowers; and muffins with sweet potatoes, pineapple, and carrots.

Dietetics intern Andria Bozzarti describes her favorite experience leading the class: “I really enjoy seeing the moment their skepticism at some of the recipes transforms into excitement and surprise after tasting what they make.”

Cooking Matters teaches techniques with which many are familiar but have never practiced, such as chopping, mixing, measuring, sautéing, and baking. Throughout the class, they learn about food safety, and, after enjoying a shared meal, everyone chips in for cleanup. Afterwards, they take groceries home that contain the meal’s ingredients so they can recreate dishes at home; this is a key component of the experience because it enables them to sustain the skills they learned, as well as share what they learned within their own families.

Our Junior Farm Cew benefits from the hands-on nature of Cooking Matters in a variety of ways, both pragmatic and personal, that build leadership skills like confidence and mutual cooperation. Learning to prepare healthy meals for themselves enables them to take charge of their health and engages them in an activity that requires team-building.