UNF students learned hands-on cooking skills during the Nourish Cooks with Housing event on Friday, March 6, hosted by the Living and Learning Communities.

The Nourish Cooks with Housing event featured a guided quesadilla-making session to demonstrate practical recipes, according to the event description, to explore cooking and useful life skills while living on campus.

Program overview and residential schedule

On-campus students can learn to quickly prepare meals through Nourish and Cook with Housing demonstrations, hosted by Living and Learning Communities and Housing and Residence Life.

According to the UNF event post, Nourish Cooks with Housing features a cooking demo with a quesadilla-making session, showcasing creative fillings that demonstrate how easy home-cooked food can be. Students will learn how to take something simple and transform it into something they can enjoy throughout the week.

Gabriella Forbes, an astronomy major, said the Nourish Cook event was really engaging. It was also a valuable resource on campus for students who want to learn how to make affordable and tasty meals. 

“The teachers who taught me were really friendly, and I learned a lot at the event,” Forbes said.

The March recipe demonstrations all took place across several on-campus residential communities: Osprey Hall on March 2, Flats at UNF on March 3, Osprey Crossings on March 4, Osprey Fountains on March 5, and Osprey Clubhouse on March 6, according to the event post.

Sheresa Divens is the event organizer. Divens serves as assistant director for residential academic initiatives at the University of North Florida. She provides leadership for the Living-Learning and Theme Communities and guides co-curricular learning development and implementation through the UNF Residential Curriculum, according to the UNF Housing staff website.

According to Divens, one of Housing and Residence Life’s four learning goals focuses on “adulting” and life skills. 

“The program hopes students gain skills that support independent living. Alongside, skills that help students maintain and improve their health and well-being, and develop self-management strategies that contribute to their overall success,” she said.

Partnership supports food education and builds healthy habits

Divens says Nourish Cooks is a partnership between Housing and Residence Life and the Nourish to Flourish program through the Center for Nutrition and Food Security at UNF.

“Through Nourish Cooks, the program is working to ensure students feel confident in the kitchen. They are familiar with easy recipes they can realistically recreate in the residence halls, and are connected to campus resources like the Lend-A-Wing Pantry. By hosting these sessions directly in housing spaces, we’re also creating opportunities for residents to gather, learn something new together, and build community in a natural and approachable way,” Divens said.

According to the Brooks College of Health Centers and Institutions website, Nourish to Flourish is a free program dedicated to improving childhood health. It addresses the critical links between food insecurity and obesity. 

Through engaging education, access to nutritious food, and fun, hands-on activities, the program aims to empower children and families to build healthier habits for life, according to the website.

The Nourish and Flourish GivePlus website says the program serves children ages 8 to 13 with food education, cooking demonstrations, and the preparation and distribution of food baskets. This is done through after-school programs across Jacksonville.

“We’ve heard positive things from students who attended during our first semester offering in fall 2025. In fact, by the end of the semester, students were already asking if we would bring the sessions back in the spring—so we knew we had to continue the series,” Divens said.

Maya Wright, assistant residence life coordinator for Housing and Residence Life, said she looks forward to Nourish Cooks events every month.

“The Nourish team is very knowledgeable about nutrition and cooking meals to fit college student budgets,” Wright said.