Check out the directory at Fresh Choice Kitchens for community kitchen programs in your area. Search using the keyword 'children' for the child-focused programs. This website offers a wealth of information related to community kitchens in BC, including toolkits, funding ideas and other resources.
Another place to check for a list of kids’ cooking programs and camps is your community centre, school board or local college.
Some cookware stores also offer kids’ cooking classes. Check the yellow pages in your area.
Some outstanding programs
Project CHEF is a school-based cooking program. The Project CHEF team comes to schools for a one week period to teach four or five lessons to students in grades four and five. The program is designed to support student learning outcomes from B.C. Ministry of Education Integrated Resource Packages (Health and Career Education, Science and Language Arts). The program focuses on teaching children knowledge, skills and attitudes to promote healthy cooking and eating and emphasizes the development of cooperative learning skills.
Another school-based program is Sprouting Chefs.It provides children and youth in elementary schools and high school programs with opportunities to learn real life skills in garden and kitchen settings. Children learn where their food comes from in the garden and how to prepare it in the kitchen, and become connected to their environment and their own health. Summer camps are also offered.
Food Skills for Families is a free mobile hands-on cooking program created particularly for cooking groups that serve Aboriginal, Punjabi, new immigrant and low-income families. The six hands-on kitchen sessions cover healthy food choices, safe food handling and storage, meal planning, healthy snacks, nutrition education and a shopping tour. It is guided by a trained facilitator with cooking and nutrition expertise. Ingredients, workbooks with recipes and shopping tours are provided free of charge.
Cooking Fun for Families, a hands-on cooking program, targets at-risk school children and their families and assists them with daily issues surrounding food, including dietary quality, accessibility and affordability. The program complements school breakfast and lunch programs by involving parents in activities and discussion about the link between nutrition and health.
"Cook Together, Eat Better" is a program run by Vancouver Coastal Health (Garratt Wellness Centre in Richmond, BC) for families with children aged 9–12. The 4-session program includes a Participant Handbook with 18 recipes, Additional Recipes with over 20 new recipes, and a Facilitator's Manual. Upon completion of the program, participants receive a certificate. These resources are generously shared, below.