By Susan Rue – CCCC Parent, Family, & Community Engagement Manager |

We have an exciting parent education and family engagement opportunity at Clackamas County Children’s Commission! We are offering a parent-child interactive experience called “Cooking Matters®“. Parents engage with their children as they create kid-friendly, nutritious, and tasty snacks and meals. Although this program is typically offered in a face to face format, this year we are offering this experience for our families in a virtual format, and it’s going really well! — Click here for photos and quotes! —

Many families in our county and program are experiencing food insecurities daily. Due to this generous grant offered by Share Our Strength, we are able to do our part to help support families and join in the fight against hunger.  We are thrilled to be able to offer this helpful parent-child learning opportunity, and want to say a special thank you to all of the staff who offer this program to our enrolled families!

Cooking Matters participants receive:

• A weekly virtual parent-child engagement event and a time to connect with other families in our program
• Groceries and all ingredients to make the in-class recipe, plus an additional main dish recipe each week
• Cooking supplies valued at $100 for attending each week, which include adult and child aprons, child chef hat, mixing bowl set, cutting board and knife set, measuring cups and spoons, and more
• Recipes, educational handouts, and cooking tips and tricks, including kid-friendly recipes
• Tips on how to stretch your cooking budget and make affordable, kid-friendly, nutritious meals
• After-class emails with educational links, and more recipes and tips
• A fun experience for all!

Session topics include:

• Cooking together and kitchen safety – Tomato Salsa & tortilla chips
• Drink to your health – Smoothies
• Hack your snack – Yogurt parfait & homemade granola
• Say yes to fruit and veggies – Dough & pineapple carrot muffins
• No more meal time madness –  Flaked chicken & spinach salad with eggs
• The family kitchen – Northwest apple salad & rolled oat/peanut butter cookies