When I applied for my AmeriCorps position at the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, I only had a vague idea of what it would be like. I had heard of Cooking Matters and knew that the basic principles were all things I am passionate about (by all things I mean food, the cooking and eating of it, and how to afford it), but mostly I had a gut feeling that this is what I should do next. Everyone needs to eat, and the quality of the food we eat directly affects our health and our happiness. Helping people eat better from a budgeting, health, and enjoyment perspective is a simple way to better their lives every single day. I applied, I was accepted, and within two weeks I had moved to Little Rock  from Fayetteville and started what I thought would be a one year commitment.

Cooking Matters is a simple program: teach people how to cook and give them nutrition and budgeting education at the same time. Cooking from home is cheaper than eating out. Cooking from scratch is healthier than buying more processed foods, and once you get the hang of it, it tastes a whole lot better.

The courses themselves always start out a little awkwardly. You introduce yourselves and talk about what is going to happen over the next 6 classes. You talk about nutrition. You fill out paperwork. Then, everyone goes into the kitchen where you talk about hand washing and knife safety (claw hand, so as to minimize the number of fingers lost to cooking matters courses). You cook something simple that incorporates all 5 food groups and eat it together and clean up very quickly because the first day always runs long. It may not sound very ground breaking. It may not sound like something that would really profoundly change anyone’s life.

But it is, and it does.

There are a lot of things that happen in that first class, and over the next five. The men and women who come to these classes open up while they chop onions. They become more confident. They bring home groceries to their families and cook―sometimes literally for the first time― and receive rave reviews. They bring in pictures of what they made and show us. They’re learning new skills and getting positive reinforcement at home and in classes. They want to contribute so they’re bringing in ingredients, herb plants, recipes, and kitchen equipment to share with the group. They are socializing with new people. They talk about things they ate growing up. They tease each other. They exchange phone numbers. They find out they live in the same part of town and start going on walks together. They come in beaming with pride and tell us how they haven’t eaten out once since they started class.

When I go to our weekly staff meetings, I get to share that in class last week a woman had blueberries for the first time and loved them. I get to talk about a group that still emails each other new recipes, volunteer chefs who have fundraisers to do more courses, and a mom who cooked her first ever mealfor her kids.

The big surprise ending: I just signed on for another year.

by Elizabeth Baker, AmeriCorps Direct Member, Cooking Matters Program