TASTE BUDDIES is an opportunity for GRPS families to cook, learn, and eat together! If you enjoy spending time with your children and you love to eat…this experience is for you!
TASTE BUDDIES is a virtual cooking course led by a local chef or GRPS staff member.
Prior to the activity, families receive a meal prep bag stocked with everything they’ll need to prepare a delicious and nutritious meal to share. Included in their prep bags is a cookbook filled with scrumptious recipes, academic tips, foody jokes and riddles, and meal time conversation starters.
While preparing the meal, participants learn creative ways to introduce academics and social-emotional learning into the cooking experience.
The TASTE BUDDIES program embodies Family and Community Engagement office’s mission to “empower caregivers to be strong advocates for their scholars” by uniting the three spheres of influence that impact scholars most: home, school, and community.
Research shows that when schools, parents/caregivers, families, and communities work together, our scholars:
- earn higher grades and test scores;
- have better attendance at school;
- have higher graduation rates; and,
- are more motivated to learn and develop.
This is true for scholars of all ages, all backgrounds, and across race and ethnicity.
Source: School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Fourth Ed., Joyce L. Epstein and Associates
By offering these family cooking classes via a remote platform, TASTE BUDDIES brings academics, social-emotional learning, and community influence directly into the homes of GRPS families. The impact on our families and scholars is enormous, as seen in this family testimonial:
I was so impressed with how much more independent [our scholar] was when cooking! He’s gained a lot of confidence. We really enjoy this event. [Our scholar’s] dad and I aren’t together, but TASTE BUDDIES is something we try to do all together and it’s really special. Thank you!”
Are you interested in having a Taste Buddies course at your child’s school? The Family and Community Engagement team is here to help!