In the fall of 2025, Shelburne Rotary, in partnership with Jeannette French of Lennox Farms held four, free cooking classes designed to help reduce the amount we spend at the grocery store, try new things, cook at home and make meals that are “Cheaper than a Meal Deal”
Each participant was provided with some kitchen essentials, a binder to keep all the recipes and hours of fun and camaraderie with fellow participants.
The idea of the classes started after volunteering with the Hamper Program and Senior’s Market where we often heard “I’ve never eaten that” or “I wouldn’t know how to cook that” or “my mom used to boil those until they were mushy and horrible”. The “wheels starting turning” and a plan started to form as to how we could offer the classes. When we realized we could get a Rotary District Grant to support the program, we started to believe that the classes could become a reality.
The classes sold out within hours, letting us know that this was something that our community needed and wanted. The classes attracted a diverse group of moms and kids, singles, seniors and couples, who all became friends.
Thank you to the Rotarians and friends of Rotary who supported and/or attended this program. A special thank you to Lloyd Schneider, Ardith Dunlop and Natalie Worst for your help and support. Thank you is certainly not enough to say to Jeannette French for everything she did to make the classes a huge success! And finally, thank you to District 7080 for the District Grant that enabled this program.