Wellness and Health Promotion Services hosted a free healthy cooking class Thursday for students to learn how to make nutritious and budget-friendly meals. This package aired on the April 3 newscast. The anchor was Diego Ortiz.
UCF Wellness and Health Promotion Services hosted a free healthy cooking class Thursday for students to learn how to make nutritious and budget-friendly meals.
The classes, hosted twice a month, are designed to teach students skills for making healthier, cost-efficient food at home, said Megan Case, assistant director at UCF Wellness and Health Promotion Services.
UCF also hosted a farmers market for students last week to help combat the high cost of healthy eating, said Edgar Carrasco, first-generation student support coordinator and event organizer.
“We know how stressful this time of the semester can be for students, and we want to give them the opportunity to get some fresh produce to go home and cook a healthy meal,” Carrasco said. “It’s so important for a student’s health and well-being to be putting healthy food in your body.”
Students were able to buy a full bag of fresh produce for $8. The first 100 students got a discounted rate of $3 per bag.
“If you’re not eating enough, you’re not going to sleep well. Mood, retention and grade point average are all affected by a lack of healthy food,” Case said.
Students receive instructions from representatives of the Florida Blue FreshU Kitchen Cooking Class at the Recreation and Wellness Center on Thursday. Students had the opportunity to make new friends and learn how to cook healthier food while staying budget-friendly.
Low-income individuals, including college students, see their diets suffer the most because of high fruit and produce costs, according to a study by Northwell Health.
The study showed that individuals in tough financial circumstances often opted for sugary and ultra-processed foods because they are more available and last longer.
“If you can’t go to the grocery store as often because of gas and the price of food, they’re going to eat more shelf-stable foods, which have more preservatives, not as many nutrients, and not as much fiber,” Case said.
Fern Lenick, senior political science pre-law major, said she and her friends have noticed that eating healthy has never been more challenging or expensive.
One reason, Lenick said, is that the cost of living is so high right now.
“You go to Publix or other chain stores and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, that’s $3 for a single fruit,’” Lenick said.
Lenick said variety and availability are also issues she has noticed at grocery stores.
“I try to specifically go to Aldi, for example, because they’re supposed to have cheaper produce, but even then they’re so limited on selection,” Lenick said.
These factors make for some tough decisions when it’s time to eat, Lenick said.
“I can spend $60 on the grocery shuttle or I can spend $5 on one of the cheap bowls, and I know I’m not getting the vitamins I need with this, but it’s what I can get,” she said.
It becomes a matter of opportunity cost, Lenick said. Sometimes, the easiest thing to sacrifice is the quality of food when making a tough financial decision.
She said it’s often a choice between eating healthy or putting gas in your car, which has been hovering well over $4 a gallon in recent weeks, according to AAA.
Lenick said she sees the negative impacts of a lack of healthy food in herself and her friends.
“You’ll see your peers say they’re really sick, and it could be for other reasons too, but it’s also partly because we aren’t getting sufficient nutrients in what we’re eating,” Lenick said.
Case encouraged students to sign up for cooking classes when they resume in the fall semester.
Carrasco and Case said students struggling with food insecurity should visit Wellness and Health Promotion Services and the Knights Pantry for support.
