The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire nation and for youth living in the Stockton/Lodi area, access to positive and productive programming during Summer is more challenging now than its even been. Youth are limited with the activities they can participate in and the City Center is getting creative with their youth programming. Starting today, the City Center is taking their popular cooking class, Dash of Salt, on the road with Octavio’s Restaurant in Stockton. This program is free for youth and works in partnership with local restaurants to teach students how to cook signature dishes from the comfort of their own kitchen.
“Prior to the COVID pandemic, Dash of Salt was one of our most popular youth programs,” said Heather Green, Executive Director of Lord’s Gym City Center. “We saw kids from different backgrounds with different interests coming together to learn how to cook. This class broke down socioeconomic barriers and taught kids how to use kitchen utensils, set a table, and celebrate the meal they prepared together. We’re looking forward to building strength for our community by supporting local restaurants while teaching our youth how to cook at home.”
Over the Summer, the City Center will partner with local restaurants by purchasing meal kits that include every ingredient needed to make a signature dish. Thanks to a recent grant from the United Way of San Joaquin, these meal kits are provided to youth at no cost. The organization plans to offer ‘Dash of Salt On the Road’ once a week and will record and stream instructional cooking classes with local chefs live on Instagram every Friday at 5:00 pm.
To learn more about how restaurants can get involved or to make a donation to help provide virtual programing, please visit lordsgymcitycenter.org or email [email protected].