Our Program Team also led interactive meal planning, cooking and budgeting exercises. One activity was a competition between Mentoring Matches in which each Match had to plan a meal of $10 or less made from at least 3 ingredients that included at least one protein and vegetable. Matches maneuvered through the store, noting selected ingredients, their costs, and the approximate number of people the completed meal could serve. The winner at $6.51 for 2 to 4 servings was an easy noodle stir fry made with chicken, ramen noodles and a frozen vegetable mix.

Another fun activity was to create a shopping list for a week’s worth of groceries within a $50 budget. This activity needed 3 items from all major food groups (fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and dairy). Matches roamed the store, marking their scavenger hunt cards with the delicious foods they would buy. They quickly realized how important meal planning is and the benefits of buying ingredients that could be used in various dishes.

This was the first UPshop that our AmeriCorps Members fully planned. Maya and Manu did a fantastic job of equipping our teens and young adults with the skills needed to shop for and make affordable, healthy meals. And it was a blast!

Our goal is for the youth to leave every UPshop with something tangible to continue practicing what they learned. Each participant received a canvas shopping bag and gift card—teens received $25, and young adults living on their own received $50. Most were put to immediate use as mentees wanted to purchase some of the items they discovered.

This was one of our most hands-on and robust UPshops. In a fun and relaxed manner, it imparted many useful skills needed for everyday adulting. Our big thanks to Save Mart on Gerber Road for kindly hosting us with a private space in the breakroom, encouraging exploration of the store and providing a delicious deli lunch. We loved the positive energy and seeing mentees and mentors get so much out of this event.

Our recent UPshop was not only educational but also very fashionable. Thanks to fellow nonprofit Dress 2 S.O.A.R. (D2S) in partnership with Nordstrom Rack in Roseville, 10 of our youth indulged in a styling and shopping experience.

In this fashionable UPshop, we saw shy youth open up within the caring environment of their mentors and D2S stylists. Thanks to the guidance of skilled stylists, every youth had a positive shopping experience. As they ventured out of their comfort zone, they discovered newfound confidence and excitement in fashion choices and self-expression. The expert tips played a central part in helping each youth create personalized clothing ensembles, complete with shoes and accessories!

D2S has been a longtime friend. We partnered with them in 2018 for one of our first UPshops, focused on Professional Presentation. It is an honor and a joy to continue to partner with them and benefit from their work of building confidence through education and fashion.

This was a truly collaborative effort. It began by partnering with STRIVE Giving. After initial brainstorming sessions, STRIVE created a unique UPshop (independent living skills workshop) of best practices to address the challenges of distance learning. There was a panel of educators offering insights and tips; a personal trainer that led the group in a mini-workout; and ended with a deep dive into creating a personal workspace, developing healthy habits, time blocking and the importance of mindset and positive affirmations. Most of the information also applied to mentors working from home, so everyone learned! One participant said that there were “…good tips and tricks on how to be successful and engaged with distance learning”.

It was good to hear that some of the youth were already incorporating healthy habits into their days. One youth drinks water when he first wakes up and throughout the day. Something he learned from an older brother that was in the Air Force. Another youth goes jogging every morning after her first period class. The personal trainer shared his perseverance to keep his new business running when COVID-19 struck, which was a lesson on resilience for everyone. Sharing healthy habits were really helpful for workshop participants, who noted that they had plans to drink more water each day, write down new habits they want to work on, or use affirmations.

For some time, we’ve enjoyed meeting to mutually share ideas with colleagues from the Wonder Mentoring Program, but have wanted to join together. This workshop was the perfect opportunity, and 3 of the older Wonder Matches joined us! 

Youth that attended the UPshop received a $10 gift card, whiteboard sleeve, dry erase marker, flash drive, and handouts to help with time blocking, habit tracking and self-reflection. All youth were entered into a drawing for two $25 gift cards and both an Aging UP and Wonder youth won the drawings.

In addition, backpacks with school supplies were delivered to all of our youth at the start of the school year. Funding from Ticket to Dream Foundation’s Take Flight Grant made the UPshop and the supplies youth received possible. We’re so thankful to Ticket to Dream for investing in our educational services, and to Strive Giving and Wonder Mentoring for partnering with us for this event.

During this independent living skills workshop in the Co-op’s Cooking School and Community Learning Center, our youth learned more than basic kitchen techniques; they gained tools and resources that extend beyond any kitchen or classroom.

Chef Dave Nelson led our group with a passion for helping people go from being recipe followers to understanding how to combine flavors and cook with readily available ingredients. His excellent and fun instruction included knife skills, explaining herbs and spices of cultural flavors, and demonstrating general cooking techniques.

With sharp chef knives in hand, our youth sliced, diced and chopped herbs and veggies to prepare two very different meals: Mexican chicken tacos with corn tortillas and salsa as well as uniquely tasty curry potato tacos on naan bread with tzatziki sauce.

Chef Dave was joined by Co-op staff Dana and Julia, who assisted with meal preparation and led our group on a tour of the store prior to the actual cooking portion. It was an eye-opening experience as youth searched for items, like chips and candy, that are similar to name brands but made without artificial preservatives or flavors (as is the standard for all items sold at the Co-op). As a special treat, some of those items were opened for our group to sample, right in the middle of an aisle. Every section of the store was explored, with favorites being bulk foods, deli and produce.

This UPshop provided a wholistic approach into tasty, healthy eating and the skills to do so in a budget-friendly manner. Once the meals were prepared, Mentoring Matches dished their plates from a lovely buffet that they arranged. Our group then sat together at a large table and enjoyed their delicious efforts.

This UPshop was made possible by the Take Flight Grant generously awarded by Ticket to Dream Foundation. Thanks to Ticket to Dream, each participant enjoyed this incredibly useful workshop and also received a special apron, Co-op burlap shopper bag and teen cookbook as keepsakes to continue practicing what they learned.

We are thankful to our friends at Ticket to Dream Foundation and Natural Foods Co-op for making such an exciting and educational UPshop possible. We are also grateful and proud of our mentors for providing support that allowed their teens to feel confident in their new culinary roles.