For many students, being away from home leaves them with little knowledge of cooking for themselves. Now, a class teaches participants where to buy cheap food, cooking tips and how to use different cooking tools.

Cooking Healthy for Everyone Away from Parents is a committee of Appalachian Student Dietetic Association that aims to teach students how to cook healthy meals and snacks. Meetings are held several times per semester at F.A.R.M. Café in downtown Boone.

The committee is lead by junior nutrition and foods major Samantha Gladden. Gladden said the idea for CHEAP came about during a group project for a nutrition class, but due to lack of interest it wasn’t created until the spring of 2014.

“In the spring of 2014, Chloe Patterson [the former president of ASDA] decided to start the program back up again,” Gladden said. “This year, it was decided to continue being a committee of the ASDA.”

Gladden said the program is important because many college students either don’t know how to eat healthy or don’t know how to budget for healthier food.

“The program is extremely important for App State because it teaches students how to cook,” Gladden said. “CHEAP also teaches simple budgeting and nutrition skills which are essential in healthy cooking.”

Dylan Rudisill, a senior nutrition and foods major agreed that CHEAP is an important resource on campus.

“I think everybody really needs to know how to cook and to be able to save money,” Rudisill said. “It’s a lot healthier to cook your own food, and if you cook your own food it tastes a lot better.”

At their most recent meeting, members of CHEAP taught students how to make energy balls, hummus, guacamole and kale chips.

Megan Lord, a junior social work major said cooking every meal is too much of a hassle.

“It just takes a lot of time to get groceries and then go actually cook a healthy meal,” Lord said. “It’s so much easier just to eat out.”

Gladden describes student diets as a social issue.

“I think that socially, eating healthy is looked down upon or looked at as being weird,” Gladden said. “So many college students tend to eat what everyone else is eating even if it’s unhealthy or lacks nutrients.”

CHEAP will hold four more classes this semester with the next one taking place on March 2. Gladden hopes attendance will increase with each class.

“I see CHEAP continuing to grow,” Gladden said. “With more exposure and participants I hope that it only gets bigger with time.”

Story: Clare McPherson, Intern News Reporter