Cooking & Nutrition Classes

Cooperative Extension offers different free cooking and nutrition workshops for families, individuals, youth, and seniors who have limited incomes and live in Jefferson County. These free, interactive workshops are held throughout Jefferson County, as well as virtually right from your home through Zoom and Facebook Live. For new moms, we also offer breastfeeding classes and support.

What classes can I take?

For Families and Adults:

Class participants in our cooking and nutrition classes receive a free food intake analysis, which helps your nutrition educator customize the class sessions to meet your specific needs. Classes are taught in English to groups and individuals at various community sites or individual homes. Our Nutrition Educators continually strive to help you recognize the value of good food and nutrition and make food safety habit forming! Workshops are usually 45-60 minutes long and meet six to eight times. We ask you to plan to attend at least six of the classes so you will learn as much as possible and can receive a "certificate of completion."

Learn about the following topics through one-on-one support or in group classes: 

• Stretching food dollars 
• Cooking low-cost nutritious meals 
• Food safety 
• Reading food labels 
• General nutrition guidelines for better health 

For Youth:

We offer a variety of interactive programming at area schools, libraries, community centers and more to create positive youth development experiences around trying new foods and developing healthy life skills. Classes and workshops are tailored to specific age and grade levels. Learn more about nutrition education for youth. 

What will I learn?

In our cooking and nutrition workshops, you will learn about:

• Healthy, low-cost meal ideas
• Strategies to increase physical activity
• Smart food shopping
• Food safety
• How to read and understand a food label
• Food resources or services in our community that can help your family to get enough healthy and nutritious food

How do I get started? 

Call our office at 315-788-8450 to find out more about upcoming classes that might be the best and most convenient for you! You may also fill out our online Referral Form, or download a paper copy of our Referral Form, and we will contact you about upcoming opportunities. 

Last updated April 15, 2022