Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Teachers add twist to cooking lessons
Teachers in the West Chester Area School District are taking inspiration from home delivery food services.
WEST CHESTER >> Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teachers in the West Chester Area School District are taking inspiration from home delivery food services for a new twist on meal preparation.
Services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron provide all of the necessary ingredients and step by step directions, making it easy to cook healthy and delicious meals.
“I tried a free week of Hello Fresh, and a lightbulb went off in my head,” said Henderson High School FCS teacher Natalie Cardamone. “I thought this would be a great idea to try with the kids.” And so, ‘Hello Fugett,’ ‘Hello Peirce,’ and ‘Hello Stetson’ food boxes were born.
The food boxes are a collaborative effort between FCS and Technology Education students at the high school and middle school levels. Tech Ed students created beautiful wooden boxes which were prepped by FCS students with all of the ingredients and recipe cards. The boxes were delivered to the middle school FCS students who prepared the meals and enjoyed the fruits of their labor.
“Kids love to eat,” said East High School FCS teacher Heather Lauter. “It’s really nice for them when they have prepped and made something. It gives them a sense of accomplishment. They’re excited about it, and it makes me excited for them!”
This was the first year FCS teachers adopted the new approach to cooking and plan to increase the number of times they incorporate the food boxes into their lesson plans for the upcoming school year.
“It’s a great way to connect the high schools with the middle schools and promote the (FCS) program in a new way,” said Cardamone. “We got great feedback from the kids. They really enjoyed it. Healthy cooking and food preparation are vital life skills. It’s amazing that the WCASD has so many different programs that are aimed at developing these skills. It is something that we are really proud of.”
Family and Consumer Science and Technology Education classes are offered as electives starting in sixth grade and continue through 12th grade. Class offerings include Introduction to Food Preparation, Introduction to Culinary Arts, and Early Child Development.