Cooking classes feed locals full of nutritional information

WASILLA — If recent attendance of the Cooperative Extension Service’s summer cooking classes is any indication, Valley residents care a lot about local crops and what can be done with them.

For the second year in a row, extension service nutrition educator Winona Benson has been able to bring her expertise to the table at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla, where 20 people gathered on Wednesday for Benson’s weekly cooking demonstration.

“It’s very enlightening,” said Wasilla resident Walt Hays, who attended his fourth demo this week.

The church is an ideal location for the demonstrations, Benson said, with its in-house commercial kitchen and a food pantry right next door to benefit from a partnership with the co-op. All are welcome to attend the demonstrations, but food pantry beneficiaries especially are encouraged to stop by the kitchen and get ideas on how to use the fresh produce often provided by Spring Creek Farm.

“People don’t always know how to cook or prepare the food that they get,” Benson said.

The recipes used have been developed by Benson for the University of Alaska Fairbanks co-op’s Family Nutrition Program, which offers free lessons at various locations to “help families eat better for less”, according to the extension service’s website.

In this week’s Mat-Su class, Benson prepared collard green wraps with “rainbow veggies” and peanut sauce, as well as quinoa tabbouleh, using locally greenhouse-grown produce and all natural ingredients. Her presentation covered knife skills, substitutes for absent ingredients and kitchen tools and tips on packing the most nutrients into a meal, in addition to the actual process of preparing the food.

“She really emphasizes the healthy lifestyle,” Hays said.

While that’s an important part of her job, Benson said the co-op is all about “supporting our local farmers,” something Wasilla resident Liz Potter said is important to her and the community.

Potter encouraged all demo attendees to fill out the evaluation forms provided to ensure the continuance of the extension service’s programs.

“Not only does it let Winona know the things that we find of value, but when they send it up to Fairbanks, then it shows the whole program that this is a valuable resource to us,” Potter said. “It’s also something that, (when) our legislators say, what value is that program, they’ve got something in their hand to say yes, people do value it.”

First-time demo attendee Tamara Sanchez said she was particularly grateful to be able to see a recipe followed from start to finish, with detailed instructions that simplify the process, rather than leaving the chef confused.

“It makes it easier to want to eat fresh food,” she said.

Sanchez’s 11-year-old daughter, Isabella, said she also was inspired to try more fresh, new foods — like collard greens, which she’d never had before — and maybe even help make the extension service recipes at home.

Benson said getting kids involved in the process and happily eating health is another great bonus of the Family Nutrition Program.

“If you can get your kids’ hands on vegetables, helping to prepare, the chance of them consuming (them) are much higher,” she said.

Watching every student learn, though, she said, is rewarding.

“When people — of all ages — can say that they have learned a new skill, tried a new recipe, or even tried a vegetable for the first time and enjoyed it, I feel like I did my job well,” Benson said. “I also really enjoy all the people I get to meet, the friends I have made through the years, and connecting with my community. Being a person who can influence others to make healthier changes is a wonderful responsibility!”

To learn more about the UAF Cooperative Extension Service and its programs, visit www.uaf.edu/ces/ or call the Mat-Su office at 745-3360.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.