By Emily Lane and Hanna Saklad

The key to a happy life is a happy stomach. Doctors and nutritionists both know that diet is directly tied to health. However, in a culture constantly running from one place to another in the race-like succession of school, homework, sports, extracurricular, and social events, it becomes easy to simply stop at the nearest Chick-fil-A and bypass all the extra effort needed to make a home-cooked meal. By doing this we lose face-to-face interaction over a family meal, the know-how of what’s on our plate, the money we could be saving, and the valuable knowledge of how to independently take care of ourselves. In fact, being aware of what we put in our digestive system is the only way to truly ensure a balanced diet, yet it’s shocking that so few people in our community take the time (and energy) to prepare their own food. Hanna and I both grew up surrounded by people who considered cooking to be of the utmost importance, and we were shocked to see how little people actually know about their food. We started cooking club, not just as a fun way to bond with our peers over food, but also to revive a love for food in our community. Though not everything we make as a club is healthy, we want to encourage students to at least know what’s in their food and where it comes from by taking the initiative of making something on their own. We hope, at least in some small way, we can teach Cary Academy students the value of a nutritious, delicious, and well prepared meal…and to have fun while doing it!