Culinary Instructor

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Cooking Matters(r) Volunteer Culinary Instructor

Position Summary:

Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters(r) is a cooking-based nutrition education course that empowers low-income families with the confidence and skills to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. Professional chefs and nutrition educators volunteer their time and expertise to lead hands-on courses that show adults, teens, and kids how to purchase and prepare nutritious foods in healthful, safe, and tasty ways. This can mean the difference between feeding families for just one night and making sure they have the knowledge, skills, and resources to prepare healthy meals for a lifetime.

Cooking Matters(r) courses meet for two hours, once a week for six weeks and are team-taught by a volunteer chef, nutrition educator and classroom assistant. Lessons cover meal preparation, grocery shopping, food budgeting and nutrition. During each class participants cook a healthy recipe, and share a meal together. Through this they practice fundamental food skills including proper knife techniques, reading ingredient labels, and making a healthy meal for a family of four on a $10 budget. Adults and teens take home a bag of groceries after each class so they can practice the recipes taught that day.

Instructors are supported with a myriad of resources from Cooking Matters(r) including an Instructor Guide with established curriculum including lesson plans, activity’s, worksheets, and recipes.

Responsibilities:

• Teach participants the basics of food and kitchen safety, food preparation, and making healthy choices and substitutions when cooking, according to the highlighted objectives of each lesson. Use a learner-centered approach.

• Facilitate class discussions on each cooking or food safety message, allowing participants to brainstorm how they might put new behaviors into action, discuss barriers to adopting new behaviors, and share ideas with their peers for overcoming barriers.
• Each week choose recipes to prepare in class that reinforce course goals.
• Assign participants kitchen tasks that allow each individual to gain hands-on practice and improve their cooking skills.
• Supervise participants in the kitchen, encouraging proper technique and gently correcting as needed.
• Reinforce messaging of nutrition instructor.

Recommended Skills/Experience:

• Professional culinary training or experience working in the food industry is helpful but not required.
• Interest and comfort in working with low-income individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Comfortable speaking in front of groups (average class size is 10 participants).
• Ability to travel to class location.
• Willingness to be trained on CM curricula, education approach, to work as a team with volunteer nutrition educator, and to adhere to program policies and team decisions.

Time Commitment:

• At least 2 hours for training and orientation to Cooking Matters in addition to an online training.
• At least 4 hours per week for lesson preparation, travel time, class time, set-up and clean-up.
• Must commit to all six weeks of the course!

To Apply: Please contact Maria Smith , Cooking Matters NH Program Coordinator at 603.669.9275 x 1133 or msmith@nhfoodbank.org