Program helps teens with cooking
In the back room of the Cornell Cooperative Extension office at Kingston Plaza, after school on Thursday, a bunch of teens and their advocates (most of whom didn’t look much older than the teens) gathered around Katie Sheehan-Lopez, a nutritionist who, in the next hour, would help them learn to cook something healthy, to cut back on fast food, and, maybe, to take another step toward creating a better life.
They were laughing, joking, whispering, some with green or gold hair, some with hoods perpetually drawn up. They looked like any group of teens, but they were a little different.
This was a gathering of young people who participate in the Youth Advocate Program.
The Ulster County Youth Advocate Program helps some of the county’s most vulnerable youth avoid outof-home placement. “We’re kind of like a very intense
Big Brother or Big Sister program,” said Hannah Calhoun, director of the Ulster County program.
The Youth Advocate Programs was founded in the 1970s and has a record of success with helping children and families stay together, according to its website. The Pennsylvania nonprofit went national, and then international, garnering praise like John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s recognition as a “Gold Medal Program.”
At the front of the group, Sheehan-Lopez held up a can of Crisco, which contained greasy, white goop – partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil. “There are 29 grams of fat in a Big Mac,” she said, piling spoon after spoonful of Crisco onto a bread roll.
“Plus 16 grams of fat in a medium fries,” said Sheehan-Lopez, continuing to pile on the Crisco. She made the kids, who were loudly expressing disgust, pass it around.
“Can we bury that later?” asked one boy, who, during the cooking lesson, mashed broccoli and black beans with gusto.
Sheehan-Lopez asked the kids how they might make a visit to a fast-food restaurant healthier. “You could burn it off,” said a 13-yearold boy from New Paltz. “You could exercise to mitigate what you’ve eaten.”
He later said that his family had experienced a “giant explosion” and now he and his siblings all lived with different relatives. He had joined the Youth Advocate program just three weeks ago, after being asked. All teens participate voluntarily.
“These are teenagers,” said Calhoun. “They’re young adults. They’re typically given less supervision, more time to get into trouble.”
“The Advocate builds a special and unique relationship,” said Calhoun. “They do all kinds of things together: go out to restaurants, shoot hoops, maybe just listen.” With their advocates, said Calhoun, the teens get to do all kinds of new things supported by supervision – but the supervision of a friend, not a parent.
While some of the group helped Sheehan-Lopez cook quesadillas, others continued to measure out Crisco equivalents of fat-laden foods. One boy scooped out the fat equivalent to a grilled stuffed beef burrito: 41 grams/8 teaspoons.
“The program is fun,” he said. He’s been participating for about a year, a year in which he has not been allowed to attend school. “We go bowling, play basketball.”
The 14-year old added that his advocate, who contacts him every day, motivates him. “It makes a difference. I’d probably just stay in the house sleeping, otherwise.” Instead, he’s been doing his schoolwork at home, working a job, and is looking forward to returning to school in April.
The kids finished cooking the broccoli & black bean quesadillas, and everyone tried some. “What do you think?” asked Sheehan-Lopez.
There was only one thumbs down amidst general acclaim.