About Cooking Matters
Cooking Matters helps parents and caregivers struggling with limited food budgets learn how to shop for and cook healthy, affordable meals. For over two decades, Cooking Matters Colorado has empowered families with the skills to stretch their food budgets and cook healthy meals so their children get nutritious food at home.
Cooking Matters in Colorado provides direct education to parents and caregivers of kids ages 0-5, increases awareness and advocacy of childhood hunger issues, and partners with organizations throughout the state to influence larger policies, food systems and environments to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Cooking Matters History
Since 1994, Cooking Matters Colorado has reached over 100,000 families with our nationally-recognized food skills education. We partner with community organizations and volunteer culinary and nutrition instructors to offer six-week cooking courses, one-time grocery store tours and childcare professionals trainings to families across Colorado. Our participants are a diverse population of low-income families, many of whom are enrolled in federal assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Through Cooking Matters programming, participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices, and cook delicious, affordable meals. We envision a future in which all Colorado children have the nutritious foods they need to grow, learn, and thrive, and all parents and caregivers have the knowledge and skills to prepare delicious, balanced meals.
Food Skills and Nutrition Education
Cooking Matters Colorado teaches participants to shop smarter by using nutrition information to make healthier choices as well as how to cook delicious, affordable meals.
We offer a suite of programming, offered at no cost to our participants. All are intended to reach families and caregivers of kids ages 0-5 at places that are convenient and familiar to them. Courses range from six-week classes to one-time events in grocery stores or around the community in settings like Farmers Markets.
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Policy, Systems and Environment
Cooking Matters Colorado leverages our direct education model to influence larger policies, food systems, and food environments to encourage healthy eating at a community-wide level. Through initiatives like the Double Up Food Bucks, Local Health Champion and partnering with food retailers, we are increasing access to healthy foods easier, making shopping and eating healthy easier.
Advocacy
We are committed ensuring low-income families and children connect to the healthy foods they need. Federal programs close the gap between kids who have enough to eat and those who don’t.
Research shows that hunger impacts kids’ physical health, academic achievement, and graduation rates.
By supporting policies that protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or “food stamps”), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC), free school breakfasts, afterschool meals and summer meals, we are ending childhood hunger in Colorado.
Cooking Matters Guiding Principles:
Cooking Matters was created and continues to be offered in accordance with these principles.
1. The negative health and economic effects of hunger and poor diet can be avoided if families know how to shop for and prepare healthy, low-cost meals.
2. Chefs - and other food and nutrition experts - are valued instructors because of their expertise in food preparation and budgeting as well as their creativity and energy.
3. Food is to be enjoyed. Those living on a low income deserve to enjoy their food as well - and need to know how to create food that is delicious, satisfying, and healthy.
4. Cooking and eating meals as a family is an important social activity.
5. Volunteering, or sharing our strengths, is a way to create community wealth.