UMAYC teaches lessons in life

Every Thursday at 5 p.m., local youth gather at the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre (UMAYC) on Mowat Avenue where they get some basic lessons about life in the real world.
The program, “Chefs R Us,” has been running for about six months and teaches youth how to shop and cook on a budget.
“It’s open to everyone, every youth, and the purpose is to try to teach them to shop on a budget,” said assistant co-ordinator Beri Korkola, who took over the program as her baby when she started at the centre in March.
The way the evening goes often depends on the number of youth who attend, but generally they decide what meal they are going to cook for the night and the group then is split into three.
The responsibility of the first group is to inventory what they already have in the kitchen and, based on that, make a list of what they need to buy.
They are given $20 and accompanied by Korkola to the grocery store, where they are responsible for spending the money wisely and staying within budget.
“Twenty dollars is hard, but it’s a good challenge,” said Korkola. “Sometimes they’ll ask for assistance, sometimes not.”
But Korkola is on hand to lend guidance, should they need it. For example, if there are a few different brands of the particular food item they are purchasing, and they are choosing the most expensive one, Korkola may step in and make a suggestion.
Once back at the youth centre, the food is handed over to the second group to prepare and cook—usually with a little help from the staff. Then they all sit down together as a group to enjoy the meal.
And afterwards? The third group takes over to do the clean-up. But the same youth don’t wind up scrubbing pots week after week—they rotate so that everyone gets the chance to participate in all aspects.
“It provides them with knowledge of both the cooking and the reality that grocery shopping isn’t cheap,” said Korkola. “It really brings some reality of what they’ll be facing.
“Some of our youth have never had the opportunity to learn how to cook and I think it’s an asset for them to learn how to shop on a budget,” she added. “Lots of them are young adults just getting ready to go out on their own.”
The program seems to be getting a good response, with many of the participants coming back every week for a lesson, a meal, and some recreational time afterwards.
Down the road, Korkola hopes to add a new dimension to the program by creating a “cooking challenge,” where teams would compete to see who could cook the best meal.
She is hoping more youth soon will come out, making the “cooking challenge” possible.
“I would encourage youth to come down on one of the Thursdays,” said Korkola. “I think if they came down and participated in it, they would really enjoy it.”