Weld’s Healthy Plate is a cooking-based nutrition education program designed to teach low-income families how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. Professional chefs and nutrition educators volunteer their time and expertise to lead hands-on courses that show adults and families how to purchase and prepare nutritious foods in healthy, safe and tasty ways. This can mean the difference between feeding families for just one night and ensuring they have the knowledge, skills and resources to prepare healthy meals for a lifetime.
The culinary instructor will serve as a teacher and role model, teaching key skills and inspiring participants to cook healthier, inexpensive meals at home.
Teach low-income participants the basics of kitchen and food safety, food preparation and making healthy choices and substitutions when cooking, according to each lesson’s objectives. Curriculum is provided by Weld’s Healthy Plate.
Facilitate class discussions on each cooking or food-safety message, allowing participants to brainstorm how to put new behaviors into action, discuss barriers to adopting new behaviors and share ideas with peers for overcoming those barriers.
Choose recipes that demonstrate key nutrition, food-budgeting and food-preparation lessons each week. Recipes are provided by Weld’s Healthy Plate, or chefs may supply their own if they meet the program’s criteria (healthy and low-cost).
Assign kitchen tasks that allow everyone to gain hands-on practice and improve their cooking skills.
Supervise participants in the kitchen, encouraging proper technique and offering gentle corrections as needed.
Professional culinary training or experience in the food industry. Qualified chefs from restaurants, hotels or related fields are welcome.
Interest and comfort in working with low-income individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Comfort speaking in front of groups (average class size is 10 participants).
Ability to travel to class locations.
Willingness to be trained on Weld’s Healthy Plate curriculum, to work as a team with the volunteer nutrition educator and to adhere to program policies and team decisions.
At least one hour for training and orientation to Weld’s Healthy Plate.
Approximately three hours per week for lesson preparation, travel time, class time, setup and cleanup.
Commit to all six weeks of the course or share the commitment with a colleague.
Email dgutierrez@weldgov.com or call (970) 400-2373.
Fill Out Application