652 Elizabeth Street

London, Ontario

N5Y 6L3

(519) 432-1801

lcrc@lcrc.on.ca

Bringing together individuals, organizations and

          resources to foster community action

LCRC, community partners, launch Cook It Up! Program

 By Ross McDermott, LCRC staff

Related Information: Cook It Up! Program

In introducing the program, LCRC Executive Director Linda Davies, said Cook It Up! will “marry the very urban culture of our local youth to

the rural experience with the goal of creating healthy eating, food preparation and food purchasing.”

The program is sponsored by Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.’s (OAFE) Healthy Eating program ($49,350), as well as the Middlesex-London

Heath Unit ($1,000), Healthy Living Partnership Middlesex-London ($4,000), the Ontario Bean Producers Association and the Ontario Pork

Producers Association ($2,000 respectively). But Davies said additional donations are welcomed.

“Cook It Up! involves working with existing community partners but also reaching out to new community partners to assist in the

development, implementation and evaluation of this initiative targeting at-risk youth between the age of 13 and 18,” Davies said.

In addition to benefiting area youth, the project will be used to develop a “how-to” manual.

“The manual will be a template to be used by others to implement similar projects for their organizations or community. Youth participants’

experiences will be documented and their input will assist to shape the program and write the manual,” Davies said.

Heather Thomas, Public Health Dietitian with the Middlesex-London Health Unit, said the development of the “how-to” manual will give the

Cook It Up! project longevity.

“I’ve already talked to colleagues across the province and they are all very excited about the results,” she said. “We chose at-risk youth

because that was a group identified in our community that needed to be addressed, but Cook It Up! could easily be adapted for single

moms, single dads, older folks, people with disabilities – it could go the gamut of a variety of population groups.”

From the youth perspective, London students Divine Duke (Grade 11 Thames Secondary School) and David Woitowich (Grade 9 Sir George

Ross Secondary School), both see the benefit of the Cook It Up! Program.

“If they are interested in cooking they should definitely take advantage of Cook It Up!,” said Woitowich.

He said he’s been interested in cooking since he started high school “and I’ve been wanting to learn how to cook better,” he said, adding

the necessary health aspects of the food preparation process is another facet he’s eager to learn more about.

“I’m interested in the career of being a cook,” Duke said. “I’ve always wanted to do that for a while now. Food, he said, is something for

which he’s always had a passion. “I love eating it and I love to cook it.”

Christopher Hood, MAP (My Action Plan to education) Program Director, The Boys’ and Girls’ Club of London, said the uniqueness of the Cook

It Up! project is value-added for the education of youth.

While the project involves a lot of community partners – business and organizations – it draws in the youth component providing them with

an educational aspect they may not find in schools or in everyday society.

“It provides them with self-confidence and growth. I see it as a good benefit for the youth all around,” he said.

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The London Community Resource Centre (LCRC),

along with it’s community partners, today launched

a new, innovative pilot project aimed at improving

and enriching the lives of at-risk youth 13 to 18

years of age.

Linda Davies, LCRC Executive Director, launches

the new Cook It Up! program along with London

students Divine Duke (centre) and David

Woitowich.

The launch of the Cook It Up! program, which looks to provide community-based education and skill building for

the youth target group by offering food safety information, food preparation and selection skills, cooking skills and

agricultural fieldtrips to a variety of local farms and farmers’ markets, took place at the Middlesex-London Health

Unit, 50 King St., at 10 a.m.

COOK IT UP! Program Sponsors: Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. (OAFE), Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU), Healthy Living

Partnership Middlesex-London, Ontario Bean Producers Association, Ontario Pork Producers Association.

COOK IT UP! Community Partners: Brescia University College, University of Western Ontario, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Boys and

Girls Club of London, Wade Fitzgerald (Garlics of London), Jill Wilcox (Jill’s Table), O’Shea Farms.