Cook It Up
PREPARING FOOD
Getting Started
If you haven’t done so already, it is ideal to get together a group of interested people from the school community (e.g. students, staff, parents/guardians/caregivers and other community members) to work on this badge. Be sure to engage the entire school community and provide opportunities for input as the work progresses. This will help increase buy-in from your school community.
Badge Benefits
Learning to prepare food builds self-esteem, confidence and a sense of achievement while developing valuable life skills. Students who learn to prepare foods are more likely to try new foods, eat better and be more confident in the kitchen, now and in the future.
Steps To Earn This Badge
Step 1 - Explore Your School Community
Are students already cooking at school (e.g. during class time, after-school programs, special events, cooking clubs, etc.)? If yes, what is working well and what can be improved? If not, is there interest and opportunity? Are there mentors in their school community that want to teach cooking skills? What types of cooking skills are students interested in?
Step 2 - Make a Plan and Have Fun Completing It
Use the information under Learn More, Helpful Tools and Activities, and Badge Inspiration to create a plan that works for your school community. Involve all key stakeholders and have fun completing your plan.
Step 3 - Evaluate and Celebrate
How did it go? Did the school community participate? What worked and what didn’t? Would you do things differently next time? Celebrate! You should be proud of your efforts to boost nutrition at your school!
Step 4 - Keep it Alive
How can you keep students cooking? If you haven’t already, you may want to consider an ongoing healthy school committee. You may also want to consider developing school guidelines or policies for lasting change.
Badge Inspiration
- Click here for innovative and inspirational ideas submitted by schools across the province!
- Start a cooking program.
- Ask students to help prepare and serve refreshments at a school event (e.g., parent-teacher night).
- Invite a local chef to provide cooking demonstrations targeted at busy families.
- Involve students in the Student Nutrition Program.
- Create a partnership with the local secondary school and have the secondary students share cooking skills with the elementary students.
- Share tips and recipes in a regular newsletter home to parents (or via social media)
