From red beans and rice to strawberry quinoa salad, University students have an opportunity to learn how to make affordable home-cooked meals through the Pantry to Plate Cooking Demonstration through the Health Center and Kitchens on the Geaux.

Last semester, students learned how to cook a classic Southern dish: red beans and rice, green beans and cornbread. This semester, however, Emily Fields, a registered dietician at the Health Center and the coordinator of the demonstration, decided she wanted students to learn how to make strawberry quinoa salad.

The demonstrations are meant to teach students how to create delicious meals using inexpensive ingredients, as well as ingredients that can be found at the Food Pantry on campus.

Fields said that as strawberry season is soon to begin, she wanted to incorporate the berries with quinoa, a nutritious grain, to create a healthy salad.

The inspiration, Fields said, came from a suggestion by one of the Food Pantry staff members. Fields said she would refer students who were experiencing food insecurity to the Food Pantry, but found students felt there were not many healthy options.

Further, Fields said another purpose of the demonstration is to help students learn basic cooking skills they may not have coming into college.

“It’s a transitional time for some students who are freshmen independently on their own for the first time. So students do get the recipe, they get to see how it’s prepared, and they also get to sample the recipe,” Fields said.

The Food Pantry was created on campus to help students who experience chronic or situational food insecurity. Students can visit the Food Pantry twice a calendar week on the fourth floor in the Student Union to pick up necessities like canned vegetables, pasta and grains.

“The whole reason is to help students feel more comfortable with cooking skills and be able to utilize resources that maybe they didn’t know were available to them,” Fields said.

Food insecurity is experienced on college campuses across the nation. For example, a study conducted by the University of California found that one in four of its students have skipped meals in order to save money.

The Pantry to Plate Cooking Demonstration will be held Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Food Science Building, room 145. While the event is free to University students, advanced registration is required and space is limited.

To register, email Emily Fields at [email protected] or [email protected].