OXFORD – “I think he has the potential to be a really great chef,” commented Youth Nutrition Educator Cheryl Gager as she observed Dain Hamilton. Under Gager’s watchful eye, the Oxford fifth grader expertly added minced garlic to a skillet which already contained onions he and his partner, tenth grader Ken Formato, had sautéed in vegetable oil.
Besides the stove were turnips, rutabaga, sweet potatoes and chicken thighs the pair had already prepped for the recipe they are working on: Braised Chicken with Root Vegetables.
While the recipe may seem advanced for a fifth grader, it is par for the course in Gager’s class. Twice a week, the Cornell Cooperative Extension nutrition educator travels to Oxford Middle School to teach the basics of food preparation and nutrition to kids in the Oxford Community Youth Center’s After School Program.
The class, called Cooking Up Fun, is funded through a grant from Cornell University’s Expanded Food Nutrition Program. It is provided at no cost to the school or parents.
“This is an awesome program for youth,” said CCE’s Nutrition Program Manager Betty Clark. “We need to get kids to eat healthier ... This is one way we can do that in our county.”
According to Clark, the program’s curriculum was developed by Cornell’s Division of Food and Nutritional Sciences. But there have been some modifications to the recipes to fit with the program’s local goal.
“Because of the childhood obesity epidemic, we’re trying to focus on healthy eating,” explained Clark. In particular, they are trying to encourage kids to introduce more vegetables into their diet and try some foods they might never have considered, like the turnips and rutabaga included in the Braised Chicken recipe.
Parents might have a hard time imagining their middle schoolers voluntarily eating these types of vegetables, but the kids in Gager’s class are not only trying them, they actually like them.
Seventh grader Rheia Benedict’s favorite recipe so far is a kale and kielbasa soup with a kick of cayenne pepper. She and the others in the class admitted they had no idea what kale was before, but now they are fans of the nutritious leafy green.
Hamilton reported that his dad had tried the recipe at home, substituting venison for the polish sausage on the original ingredient list. Making substitutions is one of the things Gager encourages the kids to explore. With the Braised Chicken, they had decided to substitute apple juice for the water called for in the recipe. When the nutrition educator asked the class why they would do that, they responded in unison, “To add more flavor!”
Each recipe gives Gager the opportunity to teach the students different cooking skills. She touches on food safety, how to read recipes and, of course, nutrition. Everything is hands-on, and the students learn by doing. They started out by making oven fries in their first lesson, learning how to peel vegetables and properly use a knife. In each of the following weeks, the recipes become increasingly complicated.
Last week the class made personal pizzas with homemade pizza dough. The lesson was Hamilton’s favorite, he said, because he got to toss his pizza dough in the air.
What does the fifth grader enjoy most about the Cooking Up Fun class? “Getting to eat after you cook,” he said without a moment’s hesitation.
The students look forward to the classes each week, said Gager. “The kids are right here waiting for me when I come in.”
One of the most enthusiastic students in the class is seventh grader Anastasia Lanfear. She said she has enjoyed the recipes they have tried so far, but is really looking forward to another dish, chicken pot pie, which they will be making later in the class.
The core Cooking Up Fun program is six weeks in length, according to Gager, but it can be extended if there is additional interest. And she is working to expand the program’s reach beyond just Oxford’s After School Program. Just last week she began teaching the class at the Stillwater Residential Treatment Facility in Greene. Next week, she will roll it out in Afton.
“We’re going right into the home ec class,” said Gager. She is also working with the YMCA and The Place to offer Cooking Up Fun to students that participate in the after school and summer programs run by those organizations.
As Gager brings all of her supplies with her, including pans and dishes, there is no limit to the locations she could hold the class. She is anxious to keep expanding the program.
“The more kids I can reach this year, the better for everyone,” Gager said.
Right now the program is still a pilot, and funding through the current grant will expire on September 30. Clark has already started looking for other ways of financing the worthwhile program, and has so far identified two potential grant opportunities. She said she is hopeful that the success of the program will help her secure the necessary funding.
“We’re hoping it might be enough to show the county that youth education in the area of nutrition is something that is really needed,” said Clark.