Cooking Matters

Cooking Matters offers hands-on, engaging nutrition education programs designed to help adults, parents, and families develop practical skills for preparing healthy, affordable meals on a limited budget. Through interactive cooking demonstrations, meal planning and budgeting discussions, grocery store visits, and group meals, participants learn essential techniques such as food safety, flavor balancing, and cost-saving strategies. The flexible program formats range from multi-session series to shorter, virtual-friendly options, ensuring that participants of all ages—starting at age five—can find a class that suits their schedule.

Cooking Matters for Adults/Parents/Families is a hands-on, engaging nutrition education series where participants learn to stretch their food budgets and create healthy, affordable meals. Over the course of six sessions, attendees gain practical cooking skills, meal-planning tips, and food safety knowledge. Sessions involve participatory cooking, interactive nutrition activities, grocery store visits, communal meals, and a celebratory graduation for those who complete at least four classes.

Cooking Matters for Families focuses on empowering parents and children (ages 5 and up) to prepare nutritious meals together. This family-friendly program helps end childhood hunger by inspiring healthy, affordable meal choices on limited budgets, encouraging healthy eating among children, and helping children try new foods.

Cooking Matters at Home (CMAH) offers eight flexible sessions, each 30 or 60 minutes long, that can be delivered in person or online. Designed as a condensed version of the six-week series, CMAH is a convenient option for those looking to build practical cooking and nutrition skills. Sessions can stand alone or be combined into a series, making it easy to fit healthy cooking lessons into any schedule.