Volunteer to Become a Cooking Demonstrator

The WSU SNAP-Ed team has partnered with United Way of Pierce County, the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, Emergency Food Network, and local Pierce County food pantries to deliver an engaging volunteer experience to anyone wishing to share their love of cooking and healthy eating to food bank clients.

Our Colorful Cooking Made Easy volunteers showcase their creativity by creating tasty food samples from everyday items found in the food pantry. Volunteers will also get an opportunity to develop a rapport with food pantry staff and their clients. Sometimes the only barrier to creating healthy meals at home is having limited skills or experience in the kitchen. You can help break down this barrier by providing cooking tips to help clients make healthier food choices at home.

Interested in Signing Up?

All interested volunteers are invited to participate in a 2.5 hour Colorful Cooking Made Easy orientation. In this orientation, participants will meet like-minded individuals who share an interest in food and nutrition. They will perform a mock cooking demonstration. Moreover, participants will understand how to prepare a successful cooking demonstration at a local food pantry. To compensate the cost of acquiring a food handler’s permit, volunteers will also receive a $25 gift card to a local food retailer after completing at least two cooking demonstrations. Follow United Way’s Nutrition and Education page to complete a volunteer application.

Our next volunteer training is has been postponed until further notice. At this time, no food pantries are currently offering food demonstrations or cooking classes. If you are interested in learning more about our program, please contact Kyle Lee at kyle.lee@wsu.edu