Rachael Ray's Non-profit Organization Yum-o!

School of Eating Good

Motivated by the growing rate of obesity among young people, Ronnie Trowbridge and Sharon Badian were inspired to create a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit organization called the School of Eating Good. In partnership with the University of Colorado, the program provides small, hands-on classes on basic cooking skills and shows young adults that cooking good food is fun, easy and economical. Students gain confidence in basic skills such as knife handling and understanding cooking terms and techniques with hands-on sessions.

Since eating right can seem daunting, classes emphasize the fun and pleasure of cooking (and eating) real food. Through their participation, students also learn that cooking and eating together is a powerful way to build community and make friends, which is particularly important when you are living on your own for the first time. Classes bring together students who are accomplished cooks with those who don’t know how to hold a knife. By the end of each session, they’ve become fast friends, simply by cooking and eating together.

The organization is continuing to look at other ways to connect with young people in the area through clubs, religious groups and community organizations, and is working with the university’s student services organization to provide articles about food, cooking, and healthy eating, along with video clips showing cooking techniques, for its website.

Visit the School of Eating Good's blog to find tips for cooking delicious food on a budget!