Youth Food Skills: The Hillsborough Community Project

Christopher Sallie, ADCO

About Me

Christopher Sallie: Journey men Red Seal and diploma in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of Canada

Completing an Applied Degree in Culinary Operations at The Culinary Institute of Canada; expected to graduate Spring 2014

Several years experience in fine dining

Founding member of The CIC Garden Club

Profiled in both Macleans magazine and CBC

What Are Food Skills?

As defined by The Waterloo Health Authority: In a household context, food skills include skill in five general categories: • knowledge about food, nutrition and cooking

• planning for healthy meals, and for including children—to develop their food skills

• conceptualizing outcomes, like adjusting recipes and using leftovers

• mechanical techniques for food preparation

• perception of food characteristics, like taste, texture and when food is properly cooked

Why Food Skills are important?

They are essential life skills that allow for healthier lifestyles and improved general health

Provides a sense of empowerment and confidence

Are life-long skills that can be passed down from generation to generation

Creates a connection with our community and cultural heritage, reaffirming our sense of belonging

Food skills in the past

Oral traditions that have been passed down from mothers to daughters

Soldiers returning from WWII developed an affinity for pre-packaged and easy foods; the beginning of a processed food culture

As women left the kitchens and entered the board rooms, these skills were greatly undervalued for their significance and these traditions were lost.

Taught in the community, by the community (church groups, Amish communities, community organizations)

Food Skills today

The advent of The Food Channel has changed how these skills are taught.

Class standing has an impact on how these skills are learned:

Those with higher incomes tend to eat out more and have greater access to healthier foods whereas those in the lower income bracket tend to cook more at home

Those with higher incomes tend to get their learning from books whereas those in lower income brackets tend to receive their learning through classes and instructional lessons

Those with lower incomes tend to have greater food skills but tend to have less access to healthier foods

The Project

Hillsborough Community Centre

15 Kids ages 10-16

Classes take place from after school to 5 pm Monday’s and Wednesdays for 4 weeks

Kids prepare meals and set place settings for “Family style” supper

Meals include 1 protein, 2 vegetables, 1 starch and a salad

Kids use flyers from the local grocery store to select what meal they would like to prepare the following class

Rules exist in the kitchen and at the table that centre around Respect, Responsibility and Fairness.

Children are supervised by program coordinator and parent volunteers

Observations

Most kids are enthusiastic to participate while others are more hesitant

Not all people like to cook

Some kids are more accustomed to working with knives than others, but all are supportive of each other. There is no judging

Community is very supportive of this initiative

Questions?