Cooking Matters classes are for the whole family. Children learn to cook healthy, nutritious, low-cost meals for themselves.

It was a most tasty celebration.

Families – adults and children – who have graduated from The Idaho Foodbank’s most recent Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters® class, as well as Foodbank officials, and representatives from many program sponsors celebrated the completion of the most recent program on August 12 at the Caldwell YMCA.

Cooking Matters is The Idaho Foodbank’s most recent program that promotes healthy families through good nutrition. It teaches low-income families how to get more food for their money and better nourishment from those foods.

Volunteer culinary and nutrition experts, along with the Foodbank staff, lead cooking and nutrition courses and Shopping Matters grocery store tours. Participants learn how to select nutritious and low-cost ingredients and prepare them in ways that are delicious and healthy.

The graduation celebration was a time to demonstrate those skills for such guest tasters as Karen Vauk, President and CEO of The Idaho Foodbank and Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas.

Cooking Matters courses provide practical nutrition and budgeting information, tasty recipes and hands-on cooking lessons for all ages. The courses are offered at no cost to the participants thanks to the underwriters and volunteers who support the program.

Jennifer Baltierra (with receipt), Luke Boehland (center) and Chris Fejeran of Saia Motor Freight are flanked by the Foodbank’s Cathe Scott, Jenifer Johnson and Teena Wright.

The generous folks at Saia Motor Freight have held a food drive and two fundraising car washes this year. The employees held the car washes on Saturdays in the company parking lot. The July effort brought in $106, and in August the total was $187 dollars. Combined, Saia employees raised enough to provide 879 meals.

Jennifer Baltierra, the mastermind behind the effort, said the August total was higher because she sold the tickets ahead of time rather than wait until people showed up. The fact that a few people bought tickets but missed the car wash didn’t bother her a bit. We are very grateful to her, the Saia company and everyone who bought tickets, whether they used them or not.