18 Reasons Why is a non-profit community culinary school in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District that teaches people how to buy, cook and eat quality food while helping low-income families address food inequity in the San Francisco Bay Area speak. and educational programs.
"Our mission is to inspire our community with the confidence and creativity it takes to shop, cook and eat good food every day," says Sarah Nelson, executive director of 18 Reasons Why. "This mission guides our work at 18th Street Kitchen and our free community programs."
“We live in a food environment where it is not easy to buy, prepare and eat good food. When deciding what to eat, individuals and families must contend with misleading marketing, confusing nutritional advice and highly processed foods.
This influential organization works with chefs from around the world to offer hands-on cooking classes, cheese making and fermentation workshops, farmer and brewer lunches, wine workshops and more. Most courses are fully booked. These handy recipes change daily.
"We focus on home cooking and appliances to meet those needs, and attract students interested in learning the basics, world food and modern technology," says Nelson.
Some learning examples are Japanese sweets and desserts; soothing ice; Chrysanthemums, Denmark and Queen Aman, a special two-day masterclass; and repeat favorites such as Malaysian chilli crab; sweet and savory cookies; Scandinavian pastries; Scents of Bordeaux: and apply foundation. Other popular courses include basic knife skills and a cooking camp. Each class has a cooking or baking menu and the class is led by a new cooking master.
For Valentine's Day, 18 Reasons Why is hosting two themed sessions: "Chocolate," How to Bake Chocolate Almond Cakes with Marbled Chocolate Glaze, Chocolate Tahini Cookies and Tahini with Sea Salt and more, and "Learn for Valentine's Day." How to cook quail stuffed with cherries and herbs, mascarpone puree and more.
18 Reasons offers themed classes on other holidays, including Chinese New Year in Malaysia; In a nutshell: Mardi Gras Party; Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncakes; Easter in the Umbra; And Purim baking.
"18 Reasons Why believes in the transformative and healing power of cooking at home," explains Nelson. "We chose to work with chefs who teach with perspective rather than the traditional methods and/or tools of a commercial kitchen or restaurant."
"Guests keep coming back and we see a trend towards more room audiences," she continues. "Some people enjoy trying new activities, while others are drawn to a particular teacher or food."
Through these paid classes, hosted by 18th Street Kitchen Cooking School, 18 Reasons provides free recipes and food donations to low-income adults, families and children, and pregnant and Hispanic women through the Cooking Matters and Feeding Program. programs for pregnant women.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, 18 Reasons has evolved and expanded in many ways, including in three counties: Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco, and created three new programs, including offering culinary arts classes. (FAM) and balanced pregnancy.
We spoke with 18 Reasons CEO Sarah Nelson about the creation of 18 Reasons, its educational programs, cooking classes and more. That's what he said.
How did 18 factors come about?
The Bi-Rite family of companies established a communal dining and tasting area in 2008 to connect farmers with members of the community who buy their products. In 2011, Executive Director Sarah Nelson founded the non-profit organization Three Squares, which works to improve food security and the nutrition and ultimately health of many people in poor communities.
18 Reasons began as a merger of two organizations, a non-profit community cooking school with catering at Mission Headquarters and the creation of free community location programs.
Tell us about the paid cooking classes you offer. What can guests expect from these courses?
Our classes are unique in that they are largely run by volunteers, which creates a greater sense of community in the classes. Our volunteers often come from people who have attended our courses and want to get more involved in the organization.
We offer courses at a variety of price points, our most popular Basic Knife Course starts at just $75. It is important to us to offer courses that suit a student's needs and budget. Cooking classes are common and people are often asked to work in small groups. This is a fun opportunity to connect with classmates and start conversations that will last over wine and dinner at the end of the course.
We offer cooking programs that allow students to develop a variety of skills; From basics like how to prepare scrambled eggs and egg base to deep dive into regional recipes and recipes like handmade Penang noodles. The World Cooking Classes are a way for diaspora members to experience their culture through food and for guests to learn about local culinary traditions.
Tell us about the three nutrition education programs you run – how do you think they have impacted the community?
Cooking is important
Cooking Matters is a 6-week series of learning sessions that combine culturally appropriate discussions about nutrition and healthy food donations.
We offer series in English and Spanish for children, teenagers, adults and families. Topics covered include knife skills, learning about food labels, food groups and nutrition, and using and choosing vegetables, whole grains and fruits.
84% of participants increased their preparation for a healthy diet, and 82% increased the frequency of eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains or low-fat dairy.
Plan and prepare
Planned & Prepared is an adult cooking series designed to help you plan, prepare and store meals on a budget.
This program was developed in response to a question from Cooking Matters members: "I've built a strong skill base and want to continue learning - what's next?"
Food as Medicine (FAM)
FAM is a unique long-term cookery range developed for participants with poorly controlled diabetes. FAM members help manage diabetes through the use of nutritious food, cooking and nutrition education.
Funded by CalAIM, they work with physicians from Contra Costa Health Services, assist with participant recruitment, and provide classroom medical care and nutrition experience.
87% of participants report an improvement in blood glucose levels and 33% of participants report an improvement in A1C levels.
Balanced pregnancy
Nutritious Pregnancy is a new nutrition and health program designed for black and Hispanic parents in the last few months of pregnancy and the first few months after giving birth. For 16 weeks, the participants attend antenatal cooking and nutrition training courses as well as postnatal courses.
Black and Hispanic births often receive medical care in predominantly white neighborhoods. All facilitators in maternity care identify as Black or Hispanic, creating a sacred space of social support and inclusion.
A balanced pregnancy prevented low birth weight babies born during the program!
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