Sephora Korpan and Gracy Mittal display their baked goods. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Ingredients for a better future

Prince Albert school combats hunger with new after school cooking program

May 8, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Sephora Korpan, a Grade 6 student at Prince Albert’s Arthur Peachey school, says she always wanted to learn how to cook.

Korpan is among dozens of students enrolled this year in a new afterschool cooking program at the school. And over the weekend she had the opportunity to sell some of her tasty creations, during a special fundraising event for the program, outside the Aurora Chiropractic, Massage Therapy and Health Centre on Second Ave. W.

Chelsey Honch, an educational assistant at the school, was the brains behind the idea for the cooking program and told paNOW the school has a lot of transient students, who come to class hungry.

“We decided we needed to do some thing that would teach them some kitchen skills and cheap easy ways to make meals for themselves,” she said, adding the kids also learn how to store and prepare food safely.

“And at the end of the day, they get to take some stuff home,” Honch explained.

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The actual program started at the beginning of April, and runs for an hour a day, once or twice a week after school. Aiming to expand the program next year to younger grades, and in six-week blocks, Honch said the response so far has been great.

“They are jacked right up. It’s been received a lot better than I thought it would. I thought maybe we’d get 10 or 12 kids and over 30 came,” she said.

Kara Gray, owner of the Aurora Wellness Centre, helped sponsor the program and in the week leading up to the weekend’s fundraising event, made some calls to local businesses.

“We got so much support from people, it’s unreal,” she said.

Gray noted Meyers Beef Ranch donated all the meat for their taco in a bag, and B & P water shop donated cases of bottled water.

In addition to the outdoor car show, representatives from S2dio also came down and provided the kids a free workout.

The weekend fundraiser raised $1,170.65.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell