Students gathered to make Thanksgiving dishes during the new Cooking Club’s first event, which was held on Thursday, Nov. 17, in room 144.

Through donations from Sam’s Club and Costco, about 20 students were able to cook meals with each other and take them to their families, learning different recipes and techniques for cooking throughout the process.

“[This event and the club are] sponsored by one of our students, and I am the adult sponsor that just helps out with the donations and supervision,” Stephanie Dupree, sponsor, said.

Initiated by Sonny Varela, senior, Dupree said that Varela started the club and this Thanksgiving event due to growing up in a low income, single mom household, in which she had to learn how to cook by herself.

“She wanted to make sure that everyone else had a chance to learn how to cook and learn how to make meals if they were in that situation, or are low income,” Dupree said.

The event was open to all students who made reservations, with a maximum reservation size of 30 students. Both the event and the club place emphasis on the familial aspects of cooking.

“Cooking is very important to me because of my family and because of my culture. Cooking is just the center of our household and you need to eat well to have a happy life. I want to be able to give students opportunities to learn how to cook healthy meals and also be able to provide them a meal that they might not have [access] to,”” Varela said.

Although this event was Thanksgiving-themed, events of this nature will be hosted monthly, each themed around a specific dish or upcoming holiday. Information for interested students will be distributed via announcements, jumbotron, and school website.