Cooke School gets cooking

First graders learn to make their own nutritious dishes

[LIBERTY, NY] – A string of 16 first graders eagerly formed a line on a cold winter’s day at Cooke Elementary School in Monticello.  What was this line for?  To take a turn mashing up some steaming potatoes the first graders had just chopped and cooked themselves.

On January 28th the George L. Cooke Elementary School participated in Chef in the Classroom, an extension of the Catskill Edible Garden Project.  The Catskill Edible Garden Project is a collaboration between Sullivan 180, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Catskill Mountainkeeeper to work with schools to design edible gardens as outdoor educational and gathering spaces.  These gardens increase access to healthy food while offering hands-on learning opportunities connected to agriculture, nutrition, and ecology.  As part of the project, classrooms can request a Chef in the Classroom experience, where local chefs or educators come to make a dish with hands-on participation from students.

The Cooke School first graders made mashed potatoes and hummus with the instruction of Joy Leon, Nutritional & Physical Activity Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County, and Eva Bednar, Garden Coordinator at Sullivan 180.

Students received their own cutting board and beginner knife and were briefed on knife safety, cutting skills, cooking cleanliness, and the encouragement to try new foods.  Students saw several types of potatoes and learned about the nutritional benefits of potatoes, chickpeas, and an assortment of other vegetables that they cut themselves to dip into their hummus.  When asked what their favorite food was, some students most liked the hummus, some most like the fresh vegetables, and many liked the mashed potatoes, going up for second portions.

“The students don’t get to do things like this every day.  It’s really important for them to have these opportunities,” said Sue Rodriguez, who is the Garden Coordinator for Cooke School’s edible garden, which grows produce like potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, and herbs, which students plant and harvest themselves.

To learn more about the Catskill Edible Garden Project or to get involved with a garden near you, reach out to eva@sullivan180.org.