1. Cooking Matters for Maine
Cooking Matters for Maine empowers families at risk of hunger with the
skills, knowledge and confidence to make healthy, delicious and
affordable meals. Since 2010, our classes have provided over 500
families with hands-on cooking and nutrition classes led by volunteer
culinary and nutrition professionals. Our six-week classes are held at
local community and family centers, food pantries, schools and
transitional housing sites and provide practical, hands-on experience with
food and nutrition. It can be the difference between feeding a family for
one day and providing the skills and knowledge to feed a family for a
lifetime.
Beginning in 2011, Good Shepherd Food-Bank began collaborating with other community organizations
throughout the state to allow them the opportunity to offer the Cooking Matters program to their clients.
This approach has allowed us to grow the program so that we now have classes in 11 counties.
Goals and Needs For 2012 - 2013
In 2012, our goal is to hold 100 classes across 12 counties, reaching over 1,000 families and providing over
25,000 meals to families in need. In 2013, we expect our growth to continue and will only be constrained by
our ability to fund the demand. To accomplish our goals, we will collaborate with about 50 community
organizations, many of whom are challenged with finding adequate cooking equipment to teach the classes.
As such we are seeking donors to secure the following equipment needs for our 50 partners:
 Knife sets: 3 - 8” chef knives, 3 - 6” utility knives, and 3 - 3.5” paring knives We prefer to provide
these knives in a carrying case and/or container for safety reasons
 10 cutting boards
 Pot/pan set: 1 large (8 qt.) pot, 1 small (2 – 4 qt.) pot, and 1 large (10” – 12”) sauté pan
 Bowl set: small, medium and large mixing bowls
 Measuring cups (liquid and dry) and measuring spoons
 Utensil set: spatula, whisk, 2 large serving spoons, vegetable peeler
 Large bin for carrying items
In addition, many of our participants are not able to fully utilize their new skills because of lack of cooking
equipment. As such, we would like to be able to provide crock-pots for those adult graduates facing such
constraints. We estimate that we would need 600 crock pots over the next 12 months.
Kristen Miale, Program Director 111 Pine Tree Industrial Parkway 207.423.5166
Good Shepherd Food-Bank Portland, ME 04102kmiale@gsfb.org