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LEWISTON — On the evening of Thursday, Jan. 5, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center’s Youth-Powered Cooking served up spinach salad with walnuts and dried cherries, and walnut cherry oatmeal cookies to food pantry guests.
The taste tests aim to highlight different uses and recipes for some of the ingredients that guests will be receiving in their food boxes. It is also a way for the YPC crew to share food they’ve prepared from scratch with the community. This will be the second taste test event at the pantry this winter and hopefully there will be more to come throughout the year.
The YPC program is a group of eight Lewiston-Auburn teens (ages 14 to 17) who receive hands-on training in planning, cooking and sharing healthy meals while also learning about their local food system. YPC hopes that these taste tests encourage guests to try new food and sees the opportunity as part of a larger effort to get youth connected to the community in meaningful ways.
Other YPC program activities include working with guest chef Tom Poulin from the Auburn PAL Center, visiting Bates Dining Commons, taking a walking tour of some Lisbon Street restaurants and hosting monthly community dinners at the Nutrition Center.
The Nutrition Center’s youth programs create healthy environments for young people to develop their voices within their community as they explore in urban and school gardens, kitchens, social justice workshops and nationwide youth networks. Job skills training happens in the field as youth provide a crucial service to the community — making healthy food more accessible.
To learn more, visit www.stmarysnutritioncenter.org.
PHOTO CAPTION: Teens in St. Mary’s Nutrition Center’s Youth-Powered Cooking program and community members enjoy a meal together.
