TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
Young mothers in Jean Marie River have been getting together twice a week to socialize and learn about cooking, nutrition and literacy.

Vanessa Sanguez, left, and Leanna Sanguez prepare to put their pizza in the oven at the Cooking with Young Mothers program in Jean Marie River. - photo courtesy of Myra Sanguez

Sisters Myra and Arial Sanguez launched the Cooking With Young Mothers program Feb. 10. Since then, every Tuesday and Thursday, young mothers and their children have been invited to come to the Youth and Elders Centre and cook a variety of recipes. Enough food is made for everyone to try the finished product and take some home.

"It's very good, and very beneficial for the mothers as well," said Myra.

There aren't a lot of activities in the community so the program is a great opportunity for young mothers, who would otherwise be staying at home, to socialize and share recipes and ideas, she said. Myra and Arial start at 1 p.m. to prep food for the session.

The mothers and their children arrive at 2 p.m. and normally cook for two hours. The focus is on trying healthy recipes.

Trying new recipes that she's learned that include fresh vegetables rather than canned or processed is something that Arial said she's enjoyed. The sisters try to include a side, a meat dish and a baked good in every session and have cooked such dishes as lemon fish fillets and zucchini bread. Pizza with bannock crust was a favourite.

The last hour of the program is dedicated to a literacy-based activity, like nutritional bingo. The sisters have also moulded the hand prints of the babies who come to the sessions for their mothers to keep.

Myra and Arial also deliver a box of food to the participants at the end of each week that includes the ingredients and recipes for the dishes they made so the mothers can make them again at home.

The program in Jean Marie River, with funding from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, is part of a pilot project by the NWT Literacy Council, to combine essential skills and literacy. People from eight communities in the NWT, including Myra and Arial, received three days of training last November in Yellowknife to run the programs.

The participants learned about family literacy, what literacy and essential skills are and how to incorporate them into a cooking program, said Katie Randall, the council's youth and adult services co-ordinator.

The programs were designed for all young parents, but the instructors have been reporting that mothers are the main participants, Randall said.

"We're glad to be part of it," Myra said about the pilot project.

The training in November peaked the sisters' interest and they applied for funding from the council for their program.

They plan to reapply in April for a different program, possibly one that will include cooking with students after school.