Cooking, chatting and sampling new recipes befell as college students turned an odd Monday afternoon right into a shared expertise at Cook and Connect, a campus workshop combining wholesome consuming with neighborhood connection.
Hosted by the Associated Students Food Pantry in partnership with TitanWELL’s Cooking Healthy & Optimal Movement program, Cook and Connect goals to assist college students construct confidence within the kitchen whereas selling wellness and neighborhood. These workshops train easy, inexpensive recipes and provide an area for college students to be taught wholesome habits collectively.
“We realized that although we are providing food items to students, some of them may not have the skills to really prepare meals for themselves,” mentioned Aly Koba, coordinator of the ASI Food Pantry. “We really try to incorporate or create an opportunity for people to learn as well as connect with each other so they can really build those skills as well as create a sense of community with each other.”
Cristina Truong, affiliate director of Titan Student Union Programs and ASI Food Pantry, helped launch Cook and Connect alongside TitanWell being to strengthen collaboration between the 2 departments. She mentioned this system permits college students to realize extra than simply cooking expertise and introduces them to important campus assets that may help their well being and well-being.
“Even if students didn’t know about the food pantry when they come, they just want to learn to cook — they also get information about the food pantry,” Truong mentioned.
Students gathered exterior of The Pantry beneath a cover tent, organized with components and cooking provides to organize vegan chili and hen salad. The “Batch & Chill Meal Prep” session guided contributors via portioning, seasoning and storage suggestions, whereas demonstrating the best way to create inexpensive and nutritious meals.
TitanWELL well being educator Jennifer Langenwalter encourages college students to style as they prepare dinner, experiment with spices and learn to improvise when sure components or instruments are unavailable. The workshop emphasised constructing confidence within the kitchen and making cooking really feel extra approachable.
“I try to just keep it not stressful and casual,” Langenwalter mentioned. “We always have a recipe as a guide, but really, especially when I call it camping cooking, which I feel like we’re doing no matter where I take my program, you just have to improvise.”
As college students chopped greens, combined components and stirred simmering pots, the tent stuffed with targeted vitality and dialog. Participants labored aspect by aspect to organize the meals, coordinating every step as components got here collectively. Some college students took the lead on cooking and turned the workshop into a real group effort.
Teamwork was on the middle of the expertise, with college students supporting each other and sharing small victories all through the cooking course of.
“When we were cutting the jalapeños, one of them was struggling to cut the jalapeños,” mentioned Emily Andrade, a second-year psychology main. “I felt really happy when I saw him really excited that he was able to do it correctly. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m impacting somebody in a positive way.’”
For others, the workshop was a strategy to overcome nerves that include studying the best way to prepare dinner and construct habits that make wholesome consuming really feel extra achievable.
“In general, it just helps people eat more healthy,” mentioned Brandon Tran, a third-year mechanical engineering main. “Instead of always eating McDonald’s or whatnot, they can learn how to cook for themselves, save time and money.”
The Cook and Connect collection will proceed all through the semester, with the following session, “Rise and Shine Remix: Breakfast 3 Ways,” scheduled for Nov. 17. Each workshop highlights a brand new theme and recipe, giving college students one other probability to construct their cooking expertise and join with others in a supportive atmosphere.