Making meals: Cooking class shows it’s easy to create healthy food on a budget
CENTER TWP — Normally, people who get food from the food pantry at Allison Park Church have to take their groceries home before cooking them up, but on Wednesday, March 19, Chris Wolff cooked ingredients from the shelves right before their eyes.
Wolff, a nutrition specialist with Community Partnership, will lead a nutrition education class from the end of March to May, in partnership with Penn State Extension. On Wednesday, Wolff demonstrated how to turn rice, salsa, apples, soy, watermelon and some spices into a healthy dish. The demonstration was a preview of what people in the class will learn over the course of about a month.
The food distribution Wednesday was good chance for Wolff to get in front of potential students of the class, and a good opportunity to show them what they would learn in the class.
“I always grab from the pantry and the produce and I bring some spices and salsa,” Wolff said. “Everything I grab right off the shelves here.
“This will end up on the site by next week.”
While Community Partnership will bring supplies — everything and the kitchen sink — to the classes, Penn State Extension will bring the educational lessons and nutritional knowledge to the course. Classes will take place at the new home Community Partnership recently moved to at 781 New Castle Road in Franklin Township, which has a full kitchen for Wolff and the clients to work with.
Denise Grandinetti, nutrition educational adviser with Penn State Extension, was also present at the Allison Park Church food distribution Wednesday, giving people information on how to sign up for the class and what it will teach them.
Topics Grandinetti will tackle in the course include portion size, smart drink choices, meal planning, shopping on a budget and more. To qualify for the class, an individual must be the parent or caregiver of a child under 19 years old who qualifies for free or reduced school lunches; or the person can be between the ages of 18 and 25 who qualifies for SNAP Benefits.
Grandinetti said these populations may not be aware of the food options available to them, or what to do with the ingredients they have.
“I am teaching low-income families, caregivers with children a six-week proven curriculum course on how to enjoy healthy eating on a tight budget with your food dollars,” Grandinetti said. “Some of the things we go over is how to prepare food safe, how to make smart drink choices. Then there is adding fruits and vegetables, portion control.”
Grandinetti explained that she and Wolff will split every 90-minute class evenly, with each teacher giving approximately 45-minute lessons per session. This is the first time the two agencies are collaborating on a project like this, but Sandra Curry, executive director of Community Partnership, said the pairing makes sense, considering the clients each entity works with.
Clients of the class won’t leave the classes hungry, Grandinetti said.
“Each of our six classes, I'll do the learning part, what he is going to do is take them a step further into the kitchen,” Grandinetti said. “He's going to take people into the kitchen, show them how to properly cut a pineapple on a first lesson. He's going to cook, and they're always going to taste and eat during the class.”
Wolff said that Community Partnership may lead more classes in the future — maybe even another in collaboration with Penn State Extension — but he also does semi-regular cooking demonstrations around the county.
“We want to pair with libraries,” Wolff said. “We did a tour of senior centers to help show them how to cook too.”
The class aims to give caregivers and young adults the tools and knowledge to make healthy decisions for themselves and their children. Additionally, the income requirement for the course is up to 185% below the federal poverty level, which Grandinetti said is to help ensure people who need the course are eligible to take it.
Grandinetti added that people who are interested in taking the class won’t be blocked by a transportation boundary. The course is also being promoted by the Butler Collaborative for Families, and its Rise Up Rides program will be available for people to get transport to and from the Community Partnership.
Collaboration with other Butler County agencies is one way that Penn State Extension and Community Partnership craft the programs they host.
“Usually I work with individual agencies and they know their participants and we get the participants referred that way,” Grandinetti said.
Wolff was not limited in his ingredients or in his kitchen equipment Wednesday at Allison Park Church — he brought a portable stove and utensils with him. He will have plenty of supplies to work with at the Community Partnership office, where the class will take place, so students can see what they need to make the dishes he is demonstrating.
“I bring in my whole setup so they can watch it in action,” Wolff said of the demonstration Wednesday.
Community Partnership will have more cooking demonstrations even after the course is finished, Wolff said. These demonstrations are always planned to make healthy eating as accessible as possible, no matter a person’s income.
“I usually do it once a month,” Wolff said. “I try to keep it seasonal and from what I can gather at stores at the time.”
Grandinetti said people who attend all six classes will get some supplies to take home that will come in handy when putting their new nutrition skills in action.
“They are getting a certificate of completion,” Grandinetti said. “They get a reusable shopping bag with food thermometers, measuring cups, cutting board.”
The class begins March 27, and will run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Thursday until May 1. To sign up for the class, or for more information, contact Grandinetti at 724-371-2061, or at dpg5518@psu.edu.
