AUSTIN, Texas — A lot of us don’t have to think about food throughout our day. The toughest part may be deciding what to pack for lunch, or make for dinner.
But for children in foster care, those simple tasks can be life changing.
Fresh Chefs Society, a local non-profit, aims to empower young people transitioning out of foster care by teaching them about how to eat healthy and prepare meals.
The group offers cooking education, potluck gatherings, guest chef cooking classes, and even apprenticeships to learn the food service industry. They can earn their food handlers certificate, and the volunteers will even help with job placement.
"Particularly with youth in care, family is something that they don't necessarily have access to just by the nature of what they're put into when they're put into the system. And so what we're seeing is that we're able to allow the community to play a role in being a family connection for youth in care through food,” said non-profit founder Shaleiah Fox.
Fox was in foster care and said food can be powerful.
"A lot of foster care staff let us know that whenever before they come to a cooking class or a potluck, some of the youth are having behavioral issues," said Fox. "But when they enter that space and we are not asking any questions about what they did earlier that day, there's very little expectation. And we treat them like adults, that those behavioral issues are almost non existent in the kitchen.... we are able to connect with them on a different level and it resonates with them and they feel respected. We're bringing something to them that’s meaningful in the form of food, but also we're not talking about foster care. We're just talking about food, we're creating normalcy, we're letting them know that sure you're in the system, but first you’re a human, and you're a human that likes mac and cheese."
Fox feels this program allows foster kids to take control of their lives.
"We all know what food means to us. We all have our own food story, right, and it does more than just nourish us. It allows us to be creative. It allows us to feed the ones that we love, and it plants a seed that if I can cook for myself. I can get a job. I can make a home for myself. And so we really think what we start at Fresh Chefs, it leads our youth to success in many different ways,” said Fox.
The organization will host its annual fundraising benefit Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. They will also have music and a silent auction. Tickets are $50. You can buy them on their website.
Fox said they’ve mostly operated off of volunteers, but are now looking for an executive director to expand their reach.