For students in Lakeland College’s Employment Skills Enhancement (ESE) program, the Big Cook is about more than learning to budget and follow a recipe; it’s an opportunity to work together to ensure their fellow classmates have access to healthy, homecooked meals all semester long.

Together, the students choose the recipes they want to tackle, pour over flyers and prepare a budget, and shop together. Then they take over the kitchen at Lloydminster’s Olive Tree for a few hours of prep work and cooking. The food they prepare is packaged and kept on Lloydminster campus, free for students for lunch or to take home for a meal later. When supplies run low, they do it again.

“We are cooking for our community and being useful,” explains Gary Braham. “We’re learning to prep and cut vegetables, as well as to follow recipes. We all have fun with the constructive energy. We can bring spirits up and help our people.”

The project is part of the ESE curriculum, an 18-week program that helps students build a foundation to reach other goals, including further education. After the program, students complete a three-week work practicum. The program focuses on self-development, academics, computer applications, career planning and employment preparation skills.

“This project is essential because it helps the students understand components of making nutritious food choices while cooking and shopping,” says instructor Cheri Lloyd. “It also helps them plan meals, create budgets and shopping lists, and work collaboratively in small groups for a shared outcome. They practice time management by preparing the ingredients, cooking and cleaning up the workspace. Meals are brought back to share with all the classes, creating an awareness of helping others.”

In September, students worked together to make cookies, chicken wings, and Sam Bloomquist’s baked spaghetti.

“I love making it,” Bloomquist says, while scooping piles of pasta into casserole dishes. “My family loves it so much, they fight over it. It’s one of my best recipes and it feels pretty good to be cooking it to help out other students. I just like making people happy.”

The shopping budget was provided from funds raised at Feast on the Farm, an annual Lakeland event which supports student-led initiatives like this one. Other Feast funded events have included wellness symposiums, professional development evenings, educational field trips, and the design and implementation of new campus infrastructure.