Child and Family Engagement Worker - Kids in the Kitchen

Kids in the Kitchen – Program Support Person

Employment Type: Part-Time, Fixed-Term (School-Year Position)

Contract Term: September to June, aligned with KARA's school-year programming calendar. his position operates during the school year, primarily on weekday afternoons. Kids in the Kitchen follows KARA's seasonal programming calendar, with scheduled breaks during school holidays, including winter,

This position is funded and scheduled during the school year. Employment concludes at the end of the June programming cycle, with no scheduled employment during the summer months.

Successful candidates may be offered a new contract beginning in September, subject to program funding, operational needs, and satisfactory performance. Renewal is not guaranteed.

Role Purpose

The Child & Family Engagement Worker – Kids in the Kitchen uses food and cooking as tools to help children develop the life skills, confidence, relationships, and sense of belonging that contribute to their long-term wellbeing.

Rooted in KARA's prevention-based approach, Kids in the Kitchen is about much more than learning to cook. Through shared food preparation, children practice problem-solving, communication, cooperation, emotional regulation, decision-making, and responsibility. They learn to navigate challenges, celebrate accomplishments, contribute to a group, and recognize their own abilities.

The CFEW creates intentional learning opportunities within everyday kitchen experiences. Whether children are following a recipe, working through a disagreement, managing a limited budget, or discovering how to make a meal with unfamiliar ingredients, the facilitator helps them connect these experiences to skills they can use at home, at school, and in their communities.

This role requires someone who is confident and creative in the kitchen, loves teaching children, and understands that the meal is the activity, but the child's development is the outcome.

Definition of Kids in the Kitchen

Kids in the Kitchen is a prevention-based, experiential learning program that strengthens protective factors in school-aged children through collaborative food preparation.

Cooking provides an accessible, practical environment where children can experience success, develop independence, build positive relationships with peers and trusted adults, and practise the skills needed to navigate everyday challenges.

The program intentionally supports the development of:

• Self-confidence and self-efficacy: Helping children recognize their abilities, take appropriate risks, and experience success.
• Emotional regulation and resilience: Learning to manage frustration, adapt when things do not go as planned, and persevere through challenges.
• Problem-solving and critical thinking: Making decisions, adjusting recipes, managing resources, and finding creative solutions.
• Communication and teamwork: Listening, sharing responsibilities, resolving disagreements, and working toward common goals.
• Independence and responsibility: Following through on tasks, practising safety, managing time, and contributing to a shared environment.
• Healthy relationships and belonging: Developing connections with peers and trusted adults in a welcoming, inclusive setting.
• Resourcefulness and financial literacy: Understanding food costs, making choices within a budget, reducing waste, and recognizing the value of available resources.
• Family connection: Developing practical skills children can share at home, creating opportunities for contribution, cooperation, and positive family interactions.

Program Intent

To strengthen protective factors and practical life skills in school-aged children by using food preparation as a meaningful, hands-on learning experience.

The program aims to help children become more confident, capable, connected, and resilient while developing skills that support their participation in family and community life.

Cooking skills are an important part of the experience, but they are not the primary measure of success.

Key Responsibilities – Intentional Program Facilitation

The CFEW will:

• Plan and facilitate engaging cooking experiences that intentionally support identified protective factors and life skills.
• Connect cooking activities to broader learning outcomes such as teamwork, resilience, confidence, independence, and problem-solving.
• Recognize teachable moments and help children reflect on how skills developed in the kitchen apply to everyday life.
• Encourage children to make decisions, take initiative, work through challenges, and learn from mistakes.
• Create safe, inclusive environments where children feel respected, supported, and capable.
• Model positive communication, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and respectful relationships.
• Adapt activities to meet the developmental needs, abilities, and interests of participants.
• Teach age-appropriate cooking techniques and food safety practices as tools for building independence and responsibility.
• Support children in developing a sense of ownership and pride in their contributions.

Key Responsibilities – Program Planning & Evaluation

The CFEW will:

• Develop program plans that identify the protective factors and life skills being supported through each cooking activity.
• Select recipes and activities that create opportunities for collaboration, decision-making, problem-solving, and independent learning.
• Use KARA's Program Planning Framework to connect activities with measurable learning outcomes.
• Observe and document participant engagement, skill development, and emerging strengths.
• Facilitate age-appropriate reflection activities that help children recognize what they have learned.
• Collect attendance, participant feedback, and evaluation data.
• Participate in quarterly program reviews to assess outcomes and identify opportunities for improvement.

Key Responsibilities – Food Preparation & Resource Management

The CFEW will:

• Plan affordable, nutritious, and engaging recipes that support the program's developmental goals.
• Manage ingredient purchasing and program supplies within approved budgets.
• Demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness when working with limited ingredients, donated food, or changing circumstances.
• Teach children practical budgeting, food preparation, food safety, and waste-reduction skills.
• Maintain safe, organized cooking environments.
• Transport ingredients and equipment to community program locations.
• Adapt recipes to accommodate allergies, dietary restrictions, and cultural considerations.

Key Responsibilities – Family Engagement & Community Development

The CFEW will:

• Build positive relationships with children, caregivers, community leagues, and local partners.
• Encourage children to share their learning and contribute to food preparation at home.
• Identify opportunities to connect cooking activities with family traditions, cultural knowledge, and community experiences.
• Promote Kids in the Kitchen through local schools, community leagues, and family-serving organizations.
• Develop relationships that support program participation, accessibility, and sustainability.
• Identify opportunities for partnerships, donated ingredients, and community contributions in consultation with KARA leadership.
• Communicate emerging family needs and opportunities for additional support to KARA's Family Navigators.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who sees a kitchen full of children as an opportunity to build much more than a meal.

You might be an experienced home cook, culinary educator, community facilitator, or someone with a background in food services who loves working with children.

You know how to stretch a grocery budget, make something delicious from whatever ingredients are available, and help children feel proud of what they have accomplished.

Most importantly, you understand that when a child learns to work through a difficult recipe, collaborate with a teammate, or confidently try something new, they are developing skills that extend far beyond the kitchen.

You bring strong cooking skills, but your greatest strength is helping children learn, grow, and recognize what they are capable of.

Pay: $24.00 per hour

Expected hours: 18.0 per week

• Work Location: In person