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About the Cook for Good Project

Purpose

Cook for Good is here to help you plan, cook, and eat delicious food for very little money and without too much effort.

It's also here to demonstrate that doing this is possible with the right information, food, and tools and urge the government and other organizations to help provide the means for good cooking for those who can't get them on their own. The Good Start program would be an excellent investment would show results right away and pay for itself within a few months.

Long-Term Goals

So why do I care if you Cook for Good? I hope you'll try at least part of the Cook for Good plan to benefit all of us. You'll save money and feel better. You'll also increase your self-sufficiency, reduce suffering, and help slow global warming. That's good for everybody. And it's good for you when others do the same.

I've tried to give you a good start by providing shopping lists, meal plans, recipes, and cooking programs. But you need certain basic equipment to use the program to its fullest. I'd like to encourage government programs and private charities and individuals to help cooks get the basics: bowls, pans, utensils, a colander, a kitchen scale, an instant-read thermometer, a crock pot, and a heating pad. Watch my cooking videos on YouTube to learn key techniques.

You need access to good ingredients to cook good food. Customers, organizations, and the government must encourage markets in all neighborhoods to carry healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Cook for Good is a proud member of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, which promotes sustainable agriculture in the Carolinas, the NC Fruits and Veggies Nutrition Coalition, which helps build a healthier North Carolina by increasing access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and Slow Food USA, which celebrates the amazing bounty of food that is available and work to strengthen the connection between the food on our plates and the health of our planet.

You might need to go to a cooking class or see a demonstration to really understand how to make bread or even that pot of beans. Invite a more experienced cook over to help and share what you make. Schools, churches, and community groups can host community cooking sessions, where people can come together to cook in big kitchens that have the equipment, then take the food they made home to their families.

Helping people get enough good food to eat isn't just a matter of giving them money, although money is essential. Cook for Good encourages the government to fund and make more convenient its financial support for hungry people. It also encourages the government and others to provide the tools, education, and access to food so the money can be used wisely.

Walking the Walk, Stirring the Pot

We don't just talk change, we try to make it happen. Cook for Good spreads the word by being involved in community events and throwing foodraisers:

May 12, 2011 — Taught a Healthy Cooking Class as part of the diabetes education classes offered by the Diabetes Bus for Wake County Health and Human Services.

April 17, 2011 — Volunteered for the Piedmont Farm Tour at Coon Rock Farm.

December 4, 2010 — Spoke on Eating Delicious, Local Food on a Tight Budget at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference. That's me starting at second 49 in the video below.

 

2010 Sustainable Agriculture Conference - CFSA from GeoCore Films on Vimeo.

Throughout 2010 — Donated ten percent of the proceeds for the Cook for Good classes at Chatham Marketplace to the Center for Environmental Farming Systems or the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.

October 17, 2010 — I spoke at Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders in Washington, DC and took the No Kid Hungry pledge to help end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

June 26, 2010 — Cook for Good sponsored Western Wake Farmers' Market application to accept EBT cards (food stamps) at the market. I did a cooking demonstration at the celebration kicking off this new service and produced a video about how this program helps provide access to healthy food and supports the local farming community.

April through June 2010 — On the Cook for Good Coast-to-Coast Tour, I taught classes at food banks and clinics as well as at high-end locations. The tour raised money for the Community Food Security Coalition and for local anti-hunger or environmental groups.

August 15, 2009 — Women on the Move, the 2009 Women's Forum, presented by Wake County Human Services, at the WakeMed Andrews Center, 3024 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh NC.

July 18, 2009 — Cook for Good's foodraiser to benefit the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle exceeded my high hopes for the event. Even on a beautiful Saturday morning, we nearly filled the theater with 278 people at a special showing of Food, Inc. We raised over $2,250 to bring wholesome food and essential kitchen equipment to needy families in our area.

See the News Archive page for more.

You Can Make a Difference


There is so much uncertainty in the world. Changing government and corporate behavior seems difficult or impossible. But there is something you can do today and every time you choose what to eat. You can afford to eat like it matters.