4-H sets Virtual Culinary Camp
To help young people build confidence in the kitchen, Arkansas 4-H will host a Virtual Culinary Camp from Nov. 7-9 via Zoom. The free camp is intended for children ages 5-19, and the camp is open to the public.
The registration deadline is Oct. 24. Arkansas 4-H members can register through their ZSuite Profile, the enrollment platform used by 4-H. Children who are not 4-H members can register at 4h.zsuite.org/external-event-registration/41712.
The first session will take place in the evening Nov. 7. On Nov. 8, the camp will be split into a morning block and an afternoon block. The last session on Nov. 9 will take place in the afternoon, according to a news release from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Participants will make several dishes, sauces and other meal components, with an emphasis on making each element from scratch.
“I believe making the meals completely from scratch encourages campers to think outside the box,” said Creena Bocksnick, Arkansas 4-H camping coordinator for the Division of Agriculture and leader of the culinary camp. “They can use different parts of a dish and mix and match with boxed or canned ingredients in the future, helping them create a healthier meal than they might have if using all processed ingredients.”
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For younger campers, parents or guardians are required to participate if the child needs supervision in the kitchen.
“Typically, we have several families register to participate together,” Bocksnick said. “We also have a few 4-H clubs that participate as a group in their meeting space.”
Bocksnick said that during the registration process, campers are asked what dishes and skills they would like to learn, and that she makes the camp schedule around those requests. In years past, attendees have made pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, hamburgers — with buns and patties made from scratch — chicken noodle soup, granola bars, stir fry, macarons and more.
“I think this camp helps participants see that cooking is not as hard as it seems,” Bocksnick said. “Some dishes that may seem difficult or scary aren’t, when you break it down. And if something doesn’t go according to plan, it isn’t the end of the world. They also have the freedom to be creative and adjust to their tastes. They don’t have to follow a recipe to the T.”
Details: Creena Bocksnick at cbocksnick@uada.edu.
Area Agency tells menu
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas offers lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays at the senior centers. Next week’s menu includes:
Oct. 27 — Meatballs and gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli, strawberry pop cake and milk.
Oct. 28 — Baked turkey with gravy, cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie with whip topping and milk.
Oct. 29 — Hamburger on bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion; corn salad; baked chips; banana pudding; and milk.
Oct. 30 — Breaded pork cutlet with gravy, scalloped corn and broccoli, greens, autumn delight and milk.
Oct. 31 — Brown beans and ham, steamed cabbage and carrots, cornbread, fruit and milk.
Operation Christmas Child nears
Volunteers are preparing to collect Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, Nov. 17-24. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering gift-filled shoeboxes to children, including many who are suffering from war, poverty, disease and disaster. Operation Christmas Child hopes to reach another 12 million children in 2025 with the hope of Jesus, according to a news release.
The project partners with churches across the globe to deliver these gifts. Participants can also donate $10 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Nearly 5,000 drop-off locations will be open across the country and shoebox packers can find their local drop-off locations by visiting https://samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/drop-off-locations/?utm_source=OCC-ToolKit&utm_campaign=m_YOCC-PRRE&utm_content=OCC-Drop-off-locations .