Can you cook? Most kids at Liberty can’t say they can. Cooking your own food instead of eating out is cheaper, healthier, and much easier on time than going out to eat. Cooking is a useful skill when you go to college, and even more so when one moves to their own apartment. However, not many students go onto college knowing how.
A study from the Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences says that kids who learn to cook have healthier dietary habits. Building a habit in the young generations today could be crucial to combating the national obesity crisis that the nation is facing.
In 2016, the National Library of Medicine conducted a study on kids who learned how to cook and those who didn’t, and concluded that cooking was crucial for “skill retention, confidence, cooking practices, cooking attitude and diet quality.” It then went on to say that “… practical cooking skills education starting at an early age is required.” Many skills that students gain from cooking can be transferred to other parts of their life, fostering not only a well-rounded diet but also a well-rounded person.
Many college students who cannot cook for themselves end up stressing about cooking as a skill. The impact of eating out every day is well-known, but by the time one is in college, learning how to cook takes up precious time and resources that one could spend on studying or other activities. It is more efficient to learn how to cook when one has not moved out yet, so they can seamlessly transfer those skills to the real world.
According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, requiring schools to teach cooking was supported by 64 percent of the
public, and mandatory courses focused on teaching how to cook and shop for healthy food were supported by 67 percent of respondents. Fostering these skills early on helps kids save time and money, as well as be healthier.
Learning to cook early does not only provide a practical use in one’s life, but also an emotional one. food holds memory. Asking about family recipes, traditions, and other foods close to those near and dear can strengthen bonds and help students learn something new about loved ones. Additionally, imagine what learning to make someone’s favorite food could do!
Liberty is well-equipped to help solve this gap in many students’ skill sets. Liberty has Food for Fitness and other such consumer science classes, which make use of the stoves and ovens in the school. There are also clubs such as Kitchen Collaborative, which help students build a habit of cooking. Kitchen Collaborative also plans on having hands-on cooking lessons in the near future. It is up to students to recognize what they’ll need to succeed and utilize (or even add to) resources from the Liberty community.
