Cooking Matters in Michigan

Hello readers, my name is James Hartrick and I am a second year AmeriCorps member serving with Cooking Matters through Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan. I am an AmeriCorps*National Direct member and the only individual serving through Cooking Matters in the state of Michigan. Cooking Matters is a cooking and nutrition education series that is administered nationally by a hunger awareness non-profit organization, Share Our Strength. They have a variety of programs and initiatives including No Kid Hungry, The Great American Bake Sale, Dine Out for No Kid Hungry, Taste of the Nation, and Cooking Matters. 

Cooking Matters consists of five different curricula that empower families with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to prepare healthy and affordable meals. The curricula are: Cooking Matters for Adults, Cooking Matters for Kids, Cooking Matters for Teens, Cooking Matters for Families, and Cooking Matters for Childcare Providers. Class series run for six weeks and are co-taught by nutrition and culinary volunteers. Additionally, we offer one-time grocery store tours through a program called Shopping Matters.

Day to day I coordinate Cooking Matters classes within the service area of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan. The service area includes Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, and Monroe counties. Throughout my two years of service, I have coordinated nearly 40 Cooking Matters class series! I really enjoy my interaction with people who are dedicated to making changes in their lives. The interactions that I get to have with participants of the Cooking Matters classes truly make my service worth it and extremely enjoyable.

My site of service, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, was founded in 1977 by Gene Gonya. Gleaners is committed to “nourishing communities by feeding hungry people.” Cooking Matters is part of the Program Services at the Food Bank. In the last fiscal year, Gleaners was able to distribute over 40 million pounds of emergency food and is always trying to increase that number. I am very fortunate to serve through such an amazing organization whose mission aligns with my own personal beliefs and ideals.

You can find more information about Cooking Matters at www.cookingmatters.org. You can read more about the amazing work that Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan is doing in the community at www.gcfb.org.