GREENFIELD — The elderly man listened intently as the leader of the class walked him through the steps. Add a little of this, a little of that… and heat it all up in one pot.
Cristy Warren can’t remember the man’s name, but she can vividly recall the smile that lit up his face when he went home armed with the knowledge about how to cook for himself — even if it was only one dish — after his wife had died.
The senior cooking novice was attending an “ICAN” class offered through Love INC and the Purdue Extension Homemakers of Hancock County, said Warren, the transformation ministry coordinator for Love INC.
The free life-skills classes started in 2017, offering anyone who wishes to attend the chance to learn a number of handy skills, from cooking and managing finances to handling car care and home repairs.
The next series of “ICAN” classes will take place starting Monday, Oct. 18, kicking off a four-week series of 90-minute sessions held Monday nights at Greenfield Christian Church.
By teaching basic life skills, the classes are designed to give confidence to the most novice of learners, Warren said.
Assisting those in need is what Love INC is all about, she said, adding that hosting the “ICAN” classes at local churches helps connect people with faith-based organizations.
Registration is preferred, but walk-ins are also welcome, Warren said.
Free babysitting and giveaways are offered at each class, with giveaways based on the class theme, like cooking utensils at the cooking class and calculators and budget sheets at the finance class.
The goal is to make the sessions fun and informative, Warren said.
This year’s class lineup covers cooking, finances, automotive care and household repairs.
“It’s open to anyone looking to learn some life skills. The handful of people we have signed up are from all walks of life,” Warren said. “Some are younger folks, some are older folks. One lady is really interested in the home repairs class because she doesn’t want to pay for costly repairs, so she and her husband are learning to do it themselves.”
Some men and women come to the classes to learn something their spouse always took care of, after a divorce or the death of a spouse. Some come out of financial necessity, to learn to manage finances or to master taking care of automotive and household maintenance and repairs on their own.
“We make it plain that there’s no shame in not knowing these skills. We make everyone feel welcome,” said extension homemaker Debbi Green of Fortville.
“We’re here to help people learn new skills in a very practical, basic way. Maybe they didn’t learn these skills for whatever reason, but they can learn them now. Everybody has to start somewhere,” she said.
This year’s home repair class will be taught by Green’s son-in-law, Tom Lewis. “He’s my personal Mr. Fix It and a jack-of-all-trades,” she said.
The automotive care class will be taught by Edgar Moore, a retired mechanic who passed his Moore’s Auto Repair shop in Greenfield down to his son.
Other classes are taught by members of the local Extension Homemakers Association.
Nutritionist Mandy Gray enjoys teaching others to cook through “ICAN” cooking classes, which she’ll teach once again on Nov. 8.
She’s been teaching others the importance of healthy cooking for the past nine years, as adviser of the the local Purdue Extension Nutrition Education Program.
“I teach them how to cook simple things like one-pot meals by using a protein, a light oil and veggies,” Gray said. “I also teach them how to cook healthy using ingredients like fresh, frozen and canned vegetables.”
Many of those she teaches are young adults who for whatever reason never learned to cook, she said, “but it’s never too late to learn.”
