Author: Anna Meador
Planning Unit: Allen County CES
Major Program: Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Core Curriculum
Plan of Work: Development of Youth Lifeskills
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
The IcrEDIBLES Cooking Club Member, Abbi, puts the final touches on the May Cooking Club Chicken Stir-Fry recipe. The IncrEDIBLES 4-H Cooking Club was developed in the Fall of 2018 in part by Allen County 4-H and the
4-H'er, Lexi and 4-H Agent, presented the Fire Department with a Thank You For Your Service Tray after April's Service Learning project. Allen County SNAP-Ed Program. The objective of the club is to provide an educational opportunity for youth to learn how to prepare in-expensive, after-school snacks/meals that can be prepared by youth. Through numerous Cooking Club lessons, youth gained new kitchen skills from cooking techniques to knife skills, as well as kitchen safety to mathematical application in the kitchen. Each cooking lesson builds on the skills learned in the last cooking classes. Snacks and meals included some of the following fun and easy to make dishes: Omelets To-Go, Easy Pizza, One-Pot Spaghetti, Chicken Stir-Fry and many more!
Through the IncrEDIBLES Cooking Club, thirty-two participants gained real-life skills for cooking in the kitchen and meal preparation. Nine volunteers provided expertise and hands-on guidance for cooking in the kitchen. Seventy-two residents of Allen County nursing home facilities received homemade Valentines Day Cards made by Cooking Club members during February. Four Emergency Service Provider Groups –Ambulance Service, Sheriff Office, Police Force, Fire Department – received thank-you trays filled with homemade goodies and fresh fruits put together by the members of the Cooking Club. Members of The IncrEDIBLES Cooking Club not only gained life-skills through their involvement in the Cooking Club, but members also learned to give back to their community through service learning.