NORWICH – In the ongoing effort to encourage healthier lifestyles, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County is once again taking enrollments for its Grow, Cook, Eat program.

The Grow, Cook, Eat program – funded through the Chenango United Way and supported in part by a partnership with the Norwich Family YMCA – provides participants with the resources and the know-how to plant and grow their own fruits and vegetables, assemble healthy recipes and preserve garden-fresh produce, thereby leading to more nutritious decisions while also chipping away at their grocery bill.

Although the Cooperative Extension offers different courses in nutrition and food self-sufficiency, the Grow, Cook, Eat program is a blend of all of them, including Eat Smart New York, the Master Gardner, and the Master Food Preserver Volunteers programs, explained Grow, Cook, Eat Coordinator Stacie Edick. “These are great programs that have a lot to offer, but if people were to participate in all of them, it would have great benefits,” said Edick. “This is something that is a big commitment for many people ... Our goal is to help them live a healthier life and become more self-sufficient by growing their own food, cooking it and preserving it.”

For a $50 registration fee (which is refunded upon graduation), Grow, Cook, Eat participants will be provided a container garden for their home or a plot in the community garden (on Hale Street in Norwich), a personal gardening mentor, five gardening classes, six Eat Smart New York cooking and nutrition classes, three food preservation classes, three YMCA fitness classes, two one-on-one goal setting meetings, and a Grow, Cook, Eat planner.