Local partners collaborate to host culinary session for moms at Kroc Center

COEUR d'ALENE — Knowing how to cook delicious, healthy meals on a shoestring budget is a precious commodity, especially for single parents with several mouths to feed.

Women who recently completed the Pathways to Prosperity financial wellness program participated in a pilot cooking workshop Thursday evening at the Kroc Center, where they were given a few more tips and tricks to take with them as they navigate grocery stores and meal preparation on limited funds. They were also awarded Instant Pots, multi-purpose culinary appliances that can be lifesavers in the kitchen.

Kootenai County resident Alycia Carter worked with pieces of chuck roast that she prepped and placed into her new time-saving appliance.

"I'm really excited to have an Instant Pot because as a single mom I'm really always cramped for time," she said. "You can make large amounts so that you can portion it out for the week. It's very exciting."

The class was led by philanthropist, business owner and chef extraordinaire Michele Dirks, who offered insight regarding store brands vs. name brands, best practices for cooking rice and more.

She added a little butter and pureed onion to rice as it began to cook. The rice would be used for Spanish rice to accompany tacos as well as a side for teriyaki pork, stretching to two separate dishes.

"We're going to just season this up before it goes in, zhuzh it up," she said. "Now we have some yum going right into the rice."

Teri White of Coeur d'Alene filled her Instant Pot with chicken, salsa and broth for flavorful chicken tacos.

"I'm a widow with six children," she said, adding how she is trying to find ways to make cooking easier.

"In fact, on the way here my oldest daughter was like, 'Mom what's for dinner?' and I'm like, 'I don't know, I'm not home,'" she said. "So yeah, this is something that will make my life easier in that way."

The cooking session was made possible through the partnerships of North Idaho College's Center for New Directions, Charity Reimagined, Press Christmas for All and the Kroc Center. 

The ladies were invited to the class after completing the financial literacy course at Center for New Directions, a program that provides resources and educational paths for single parents and displaced homemakers. 

The class was hosted and cooking equipment paid for by Charity Reimagined, a nonprofit that works to reverse the trajectory of chronic dependence that stems from one-way giving. 

The food was purchased with funds raised through Press Christmas for All, the nonprofit of the Coeur d'Alene Press that raises funds during the holidays to fill significant needs of community members at Christmastime and beyond, and the Kroc donated the workshop space and child care so the moms with little ones could attend.

"It's bringing together the vision that we can cross-resource and all work together," Charity Reimagined founder Maggie Lyons said.

She said it has always been a dream to offer a cooking class geared toward single moms.

"This idea was birthed during 2020 and then COVID hit, and we've learned so much through the last several years," Lyons said. 

The work the participants underwent through Pathways to Prosperity has helped them see money in a different light, she said.

"Even though they don't have very much money, they have learned what their food budget is," she said. "We want to give them an opportunity to know they can make really good food on limited time and a limited budget."

She praised Dirks for leading the class and for having such a heart for women.

"She can make a meal go a mile on very little money," Lyons said.

    Michele Dirks, center, leads a pilot cooking workshop for moms Thursday at the Kroc Center.

    Alycia Carter, left, works with Michele Dirks to prep chuck roast in an Instant Pot during a cooking session for single moms Thursday evening. The pilot class was hosted by Charity Reimagined and made possible through partnerships with North Idaho College's Center for New Directions, Press Christmas for All and the Kroc Center.