ELI students created the Culinary Resistance Workshop to address student food insecurity and build food system literacy at UC Santa Barbara. Their six-week cooking course teaches CalFresh-eligible students practical cooking skills, sustainable meal preparation, and how to access campus food resources through partnerships with local organizations. The program empowers students to make healthier, more sustainable food choices.
Stella Cosgrove and Alexis Velasco launched The Culinary Resistance Workshop to address the challenges of student food insecurity and inadequate food system literacy at UC Santa Barbara. With 48 percent of undergraduates experiencing food insecurity, many students default to carbon-intensive, pre-packaged foods due to limited time and a lack of cooking confidence. Motivated by the belief that food literacy is a cornerstone of environmental leadership, Stella Cosgrove and Alexis Velasco designed this initiative to empower students to reclaim agency over their own nutrition while prioritizing the health of the planet.
The core of the project is a six-week pilot cooking workshop series held during the Spring 2026 quarter at the St. George YMCA in Isla Vista. In partnership with the A to Z Cooking School, the program provides a cohort of CalFresh-eligible students with hands-on culinary instruction, teaching essential techniques like proper knife grips and "adaptive cooking" using local, seasonal produce and food bank staples. A critical component of the curriculum is the integration of campus resource providers; representatives from the AS Food Bank, CalFresh, and the Edible Campus Program join the workshops to provide on-site application support and teach students how to navigate campus food pantries effectively.
Significant progress has been made, with the Spring 2026 pilot currently underway and successful collaborations established with the Saticoy Food Hub and Get Hooked Seafood for sustainable ingredient sourcing. Students have already begun mastering made-from-scratch dishes such as hummus, falafel, and fresh spring rolls while learning to identify edible plants in local gardens. By fostering a kitchen community, the workshop is successfully shifting participants from passive consumers to informed, resilient individuals who can confidently navigate both the kitchen and the broader food system.