News
At Lunch Break Cooking Class, Kids Help The Community And Have Fun
By Eleanor O'Sullivan
RED BANK - First there are the giggles and then the gaggles of children take their seats and get down to the business of learning how to cook and to help the needy. It's the second week of a five-week course led by Jo Anne Larzik, Monmouth Beach, at Lunch Break in Red Bank. The class has 12 children, ages 5 to 12, who will prepare a complete meal that will be served the next day, free of charge, to Lunch Break clients. Each week, Larzik brings a different sets of "tools," today's being a mortar and pestle, grape seed oil, whole wheat flour and food chopper. Today, the class is making mashed potatoes and meat loaf (last week, they made chicken parmesan and all agree - they get to taste their ef for ts - it was delicious!) Larzik conducts the cooking classes in two-hour sessions that run five weeks each. The last session ends in June, as the school year concludes.
A true sight to behold: the kids donning hairnets and wearing gloves when they do cooking chores such as peeling potatoes "Peel the potato with the potato standing, and peel down and away; it should come easy," says Miss Jo Anne. The children are assisted by volunteers and Lunch Break cooks, who are introduced by Miss Jo Anne. She reminds the children that the kitchen is a place of respect so thankyous and pleases are in order. She asks the kids to sit boy next to girl, but as there are about three times as many boys in this class, the girls are surrounded by boys on either side. Lunch Break provides free hot lunches Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m. at its facility at 121 Drs. James Parker Boulevard, Red Bank. On an average day, between 80 to 120 clients are ser ved.
Delivery of meals also is provided for the homebound, and the organization also operates a food pantry and distributes clothing. Larzik started the children's cooking classes for Lunch Break as a pilot program in October 2009; it was so well received, a waiting list soon developed for upcoming slots. "The response was so great at eight slots I increased it to 10; the most I can take is a dozen. And we have four to six volunteers who come in to help for three hours." The children have cooked chicken parmesan; meatloaf and mashed potatoes and vegetable casserole, as well as carrot soup, corn chowder, and salads with vegetables donated by Sickles Farm in Little Silver. Larzik has just the right touch with her fledgling cooks: light but firm. She is certified in food handling by the state of New Jersey and is a volunteer cook at Lunch Break three times a week. She says she believes it is critical that children learn nutrition at an early age. She also teaches private cooking classes, has written a cookbook for children and maintains a Web site, www.nowwerecookinkids. com. She says her knowledge of good food came from being an overweight child and learning the rules of nutritious eating and cooking. She lost 23 pounds, became a self-taught cook and has been teaching cooking classes for more than 10 years. During the Lunch Break class, the children are assigned food items to donate to the cooking class, so a boy named Sean arrives with 10 pounds of potatoes (carried in by his mother). "Anybody want to be a chef or a cook when they grow up?" Miss Jo Anne asks, as the children diligently peel and plop the potatoes in big colanders set in the middle of the table. Before they peeled the potatoes, the children washed them with the help of volunteers. "Rub that potato clean," says volunteer Ron, cheering on a girl named Jayne. Eyes were on their work, no giggling or goofing off allowed in this class.
Occasional spurts of chitchat were nipped in the bud by Miss Jo Anne, who reminded the kids that working with a sharp potato peeler required attention. "There are no skinned hands in this class!" she exhorted the students. Ron guided a boy named Tyler to help him refine the proper peeling technique; it proved successful. Smiles from both student and helper as potato skin shot down in a neat pile. A break earned, Miss Jo Anne asks the class what they get out of making real meals for Lunch Break clients. Many said they liked "giving back to the community."
Others were happy they could help feed people in need. At the end of the five week course, each child receives an apron, a cookbook and a certificate of completion. A bonus: the kids said they had fun doing good.
Can't beat that.More information about Lunch Break and the cooking class are available from (732) 747-8577 or info@lunchbreak.org.
