The Cooking Towards Independence Fund was developed to support cooking/budgeting/nutrition and fitness programming. Open to youth 14-26 years old, the core program is designed to deliver tailored cooking, food budgeting and nutritional workshops. Costs may include fees for trained youth workers, nutritionists and chefs, food, equipment and fees to rent space. There is some flexibility on the structure and possible additional components could include things like:

• A variety of program models (ie. 5-6 week program, week long workshops, intensive day long workshops or ½ day workshop)
• Creating a recipe booklet with low budget, easy nutritious meals for participants
• Training/payment for food handling certification
• Fitness activities
• Incentives for youth (ie. gift cards, transportation, kitchen supplies… etc.)