At Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship, we are more than just a scholarship. We help students prepare for employment and for managing their new income. Through developmental workshops, we provide students with the tools to help manage day to day life. Some of our most popular workshops are centered around cooking and – more importantly – how to do so on a budget which is vital to our recipients.
“There has been a lot of positive feedback on the cooking on a budget program, especially with the receipt of the crockpot. The crockpot frees up their time in what is a very busy day for almost every one of our parents,” notes Program Manager, Alodia Hankins. “The most important benefit is that it reminds our single parents that they can have a meal cooking unattended while they spend time with their children, catch up on homework, or just take a quiet moment for mom.”
ASPSF cooking programs often provide parents with free crockpots, groceries, gift cards, and various recipes to use at home. Attendees are not only learning ways to make large quantities of food on a tight budget; they are also creating healthy meals the whole family can enjoy.
“I attended the eating healthy class recently and really enjoyed it,” says scholarship recipient April Garret. “Having a reminder on reading labels of foods and cooking healthy was just what I needed. I brought my youngest daughter with me and she had fun comparing labels with the other participants. I feel like she learned a lot as well and we used the crockpot the very next day.”
Providing practical learning opportunities is just one of the many ways we at ASPSF look to go above and beyond for our students. For more information about developmental workshops in your area, visit our events page!