“There are too many cooks in the kitchen” is something you’ll never hear in The Kitchen at Second Harvest. The more the merrier! If you enjoy coming home to the smell of your favorite soup simmering on the stove, you’ll love the sensation of walking through our warehouse and picking up wafts of garlic, onion and basil as 20 community chefs learn a new spaghetti recipe and hone their culinary skills.
In The Kitchen, we host cooking classes every week that are free to the public — especially our neighbors facing hunger. We focus on recipes that are nutritious, affordable and use ingredients sourced from our very own warehouse. We want our neighbors to know all about the health benefits of those canned chickpeas they keep seeing on the shelf at the food pantry and how they can cook them.
To execute these cooking classes, our nutrition education team partners with a dynamite
Would you like to become a nutrition ambassador? We’ll hold our winter nutrition ambassador orientation Feb. 5. Here’s a Q&A from a few of our nutrition ambassadors to help you learn more about the program:
What’s your favorite memory as a nutrition ambassador?
Barbara: “I love the satisfied look on attendees’ faces when they finish their cooking/baking and gather at the tables to eat and talk with each other about the food. For some of them, this is the only time they share a meal with another person.”
What was the most impactful moment of your work in The Kitchen?
Kevin: “Seeing another early attendee out of his wheelchair. He had gotten off of numerous medications due to the cooking and nutrition skills learned through The Kitchen.”
What drew you to become a nutrition ambassador?
JoAnne: “I have always said that my enjoyment and interest in cooking and sharing food with others is one of my love languages. To be able to combine that interest with sharing applicable skills with others, creating a fun, shared experience that builds confidence, and partner with a solid organization like Second Harvest is an honor.”
What makes you want to continue volunteering?
Deb: “The challenges of achieving good health through affordable lifestyle changes are not easily solved. As the Kitchen continues to fulfill its mission and broaden its reach, I look forward to participating and sharing my experience while learning about those of others. Engaging with fun, interesting individuals provides its own rewards.”
What would you say to a new volunteer?
JoAnne: “In The Kitchen, you are welcomed as you are; your skills and personality are direct contributions to the way a class plays out. People will leave these small group experiences with new ideas, possibly because of how you engaged with them, equipped and encouraged them. You have a chance to make a difference for someone each time you’re volunteering in The Kitchen; allowing someone to focus on the skills they’re building without the added logistics of shopping for ingredients or doing the dishes, and pointing out ways they’ve succeeded or asked an insightful question and using that time to see them in that moment.”
Kevin: “New volunteers, enjoy yourself. Know that every minute we spend there improves the well-being of others.”
To learn more about volunteering in The Kitchen, please click here or visit: https://secondharvestkitchen.org. Register here for the Feb. 5 winter nutrition ambassador orientation.
