Kids Cook with Heart

SHOPPING FOR HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES and learning how to cook them is an investment in health for a lifetime. To get our kids off to a good start, the American Heart Association took their cooking program aimed at children virtual when in-person classes were not an option.

Rouses donated boxes of the ingredients needed for the holiday-themed cooking class. More than 30 kids from Lancaster Elementary School participated in the digital program led by several local nutritionists. In addition to selecting the right ingredients, participants learned essential cooking skills. They also learned how to cook healthy meals on a budget and craft heart-healthy versions of some of our favorite holiday side dishes, and even a dessert. Students were taught how a healthy diet can positively affect their lives.

Before each class, the students took the necessary ingredients home from school, or picked them up if they were participating in virtual learning and made a side dish to serve their family that evening. Each semester, this program will come to a different northshore school in an area of high need and continue to spread these skills and knowledge across our youth.

Thanks to local sponsors at Ochsner Health - Northshore, St. Tammany Health System and Slidell Memorial Hospital, this program will bring us all a healthier future.