We were thrilled to pilot a new program in July called “Farm to Camp Cooking Classes” in partnership with The Salvation Army Community Center’s summer camp, located right around the corner from Raleigh City Farm. The program featured produce from our Farm partner, Infinity Hundred Farms, and we were equally honored to welcome Ryan McGuire, chef at the NC Executive Mansion and founder of Common Roots Project as our team leader with support from Raleigh City Farm board member, Ivan Hovis-Gobern.

The goal of this 4-week program, funded by the Jamie Kirk Hahn Fund, was to teach youth about sourcing, preparing and eating healthy foods, while engaging their parents with supporting information. The delight was spending time with 24 curious campers who were deeply engaged in digging in to learn more about local food.

Here are a few outcomes and recipes we’d like to share:

Week One: July 9 - A Tour of Raleigh City Farm. Campers walked to the Farm for a tour to see the source of the food for the cooking classes. They tasted herbs, fruit as well as talked about their favorite foods and recipes.

Campers tour the Food Forest at Raleigh City Farm and sample a few pears!

Week Two: July 16 - Cooking demo/hands-on session at The Salvation Army Kitchen/Community Room with ingredients sourced from Raleigh City Farm. Chef Ryan focus on food safety, prep, and the teamwork needed in the kitchen. He also underscored the opportunities available in the service industry.

Recipe: Student tasted a simple salad with these ingredients: cucumber, pepper, onions, touch of radish, and Thai basil with a dressing of oil, vinegar, sea salt, and pepper.

Week Three: July 23 - Cooking demo/hands-on session with more farm-fresh ingredients from Raleigh City Farm and review of cooking safety and prep. Students also tasted figs and shucked corn.