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Get out your pots and pans because a new cooking class is coming to town.

Jennifer Gogol is a clinician at Alaska Island Community Services, or AICS. She says the class is geared toward teaching people how to eat healthy on a budget.

Logo courtesy of AICS

Logo courtesy of AICS

“It’s mostly going to be teaching about the different recipes. It’s going to be teaching about the prices of each item, the health aspects, and different ways that you can switch ingredients in and out to make it healthier,” says Gogol.

The price of food is high in Alaska and preparing a full meal takes time. But, there are both economical and efficient ways to cook healthy food.

Gogol says she hopes the class will put people more in touch with the food they eat and help them to think, and dine, in a way that’s beneficial for their health.

“I think that there’s just a lack of awareness and a lack of connection with people and their food. I know it’s a lot easier to go to the grocery store and pull out a frozen pizza than to prepare a fresh-made dough and put on all the fresh ingredients. So, I think that if we can get back to connecting with our food and the process of cooking, it’s going to make for more mindful eating overall,” says Gogol.

That body-mind connection is the focus of the grant that is sponsoring this cooking class. It’s also the reason behind the recently-started AICS yoga class.

“If we can promote wellness physically, then it’s going to promote wellness mentally,” says Gogol.

Part of that equation is stimulating the mind and body to try new things. Gogol plans to bring in guest chefs from the community to teach the class how to make interesting foods that many people may not have tried before.

“I think we have a lot of talented people here in Wrangell. So if anyone is interested, I’d love for them to contact me,” says Gogol.

She’s also looking for feedback from the class participants. She says she doesn’t want it to be a prescribed curriculum that they follow each week. She wants people to learn what they want to learn.
Of course it will start off with some basics…

“But it’s really going to be oriented to what the class is wanting. So the class before, the participants are going to drive what the next class is going to look at,” says Gogol.

The class is open to anyone age 16 and older of all skill levels.

Classes start Monday, December 2nd from 6-8pm at the Parks and Rec Multi-Purpose Room and Kitchen.

For more information, contact Jennifer Gogol at AICS at 874-2373.