Youth Gour-Made is a one of a kind youth cooking program. Launched in 2020 with the generous support of the Poco Community Foundation, Gour-Made reaches upwards of 70 families each week. The program has 2 components. The biggest one is our meal kit delivery service. Each week Chef Karen creates a recipe and our team of volunteers pack the ingredients into kits and deliver them to our families. The meals are focused on pantry friendly, economical ingredients that can be easily prepared by the youth. In addition to the weekly meal kit, each family receives a welcome kit with basic ingredients that are used regularly in the recipes. Each kit allows them to explore cooking techniques, along with ingredient substitutions and adaptations. The youth are encouraged to share their creations for a chance to win a $25 gift card each week.

The second component is Youth Gourmade Live. Twice a week Chef Karen leads 10 youth in a 2.5 hour hands on cooking class at the Poco Community Centre. The youth prepare a 3 course meal, sit down to eat together, and then take home food for their families. The focus here is on skill development, budgeting and nutrition.

Youth Gourmade is a crucial program that helps to address food insecurity in the Tri-Cities. It teaches life skills to our youth and helps to set them up for success. After all, if you can’t feed yourself, you can’t do much else either.

-Chef Karen Curtis

We are always happy to welcome volunteers to our program! There are many ways to get involved, including helping portion ingredients, packing meal kits, and delivering them to those in need.

Thank you to SD43, Foodbank on Wheels, Poco Community Foundation, United Way, FreshPrep and Backpack Buddies.