A new cooking class at an Arkansas prison aims to help inmates better provide for their families upon release.
Twelve women have graduated from the six-week pilot course that teaches inmates to shop for and prepare cost-efficient, nutritious meals, according to a news release from the Arkansas Department of Correction and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
The program is a partnership between the state agency's Wrightsville Hawkins Center and the nonprofit.
Deputy warden Mark Warner, who taught the first class, said he had been looking for a way to bring cooking and nutrition into the prison’s re-entry program.
“Releasing women with the nutritional education will make a difference in their lives and can make a huge difference in the lives of Arkansas families and children who benefit from healthier meals,” Warner said in the release. He added that it's "absolutely the most popular program we’ve offered" at the prison.
One participant said no one had taught her to cook before she took the class.
“I also have learned to cook healthy and feed me and my girls on a budget. I can now go home and teach my girls life skills they need,” she said in the release.