SPRINGFIELD — Lincoln Land Community College’s Culinary Institute is partnering with the Illinois State Board of Education Nutrition and Wellness Division to offer hands-on culinary training classes.
It will be through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
The program is being conducted for three years. It offers advancing levels of certification from Level 1 through Level 3. Participants will receive four continuing education units per class.
Level 1 is now available and free of charge. Space is limited. Early registration is recommended.
In Level 1, the CACFP Healthier Meals Cooking Class, participants advance their skills and learn the latest techniques and methods for cooking healthier foods. Participants will prepare and taste-test nutritious snack and menu items that appeal to children, while using more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lowering fat, sugar and sodium content.
All recipes used are from “Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Child Care Centers.”
The class also includes scaling and adapting recipes, knife skills, proper produce storage and a chef demonstration.
The one-day, four-hour Level 1 has sessions in April, May and June at various times of the day.
Classes are being held in the state-of-the-art culinary labs at LLCC’s Workforce Careers Center, 5250 Shepherd Road, Springfield. Class sessions are also being offered at Kendall College in Chicago.
A full list of class dates and online registration are available at www.isbe.net/nutrition, by scrolling to workshops and clicking the CACFP Healthier Meals Cooking Classes link. Call ISBE at 1-800-545-7892 for more information.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It provides reimbursement to child care centers, preschool programs, before and after-school programs, and emergency shelters for the supplying of nutritious foods that contribute to the wellness, healthy growth and development of young children.