A “Cooking on Campus” class on sustainable practices will be offered at the Student Recreation Center for the first time this Thursday.

The Student Health Advocacy Committee, under the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, normally collaborates with Campus Health Service, UA Dining Services and the Rec Center on “Cooking on Campus” classes, but this time they’re teaming up with Food For All, a club under Students for Sustainability, for this special project.

Rachel Smith, a nutritional sciences and chemistry junior and the committee chair of FFA, said that one of the SHAC chefs will teach students the hands-on cooking portion of the class, and that FFA will step in to educate students about sustainable eating practices and facilitate discussion on the importance of these practices. A maximum of 20 students will be able participate.

Meghan Fernandez, a freshman studying sustainable built environments and a member of Students for Sustainability and FFA, said that the class will only be offered once this semester, but said she hopes to hold courses like this again in the future.

“The class is basically a way to teach students living on campus how it is easy to cook sustainable meals,” Fernandez said. “Of course, we also want to emphasize what sustainable food is exactly.” The meal will center on springtime foods to fit the season, Fernandez added.

Participants will be making whole grain strawberry muffins and southwest quinoa salad.

“Our hope is to establish a sustainable cooking series where we invite local chefs to come to campus and teach about sustainable and local cooking,” Smith said.

The educational part of the class, which FFA is handling, will consist of three parts: defining sustainable food, discussing the negative environmental impacts of non-sustainable food and recommending ways to incorporate sustainable eating habits into students’ current lifestyles, according to Smith.

“While the SHAC Cooking on Campus classes focus on making healthy decisions when it comes to eating, this class will focus on making earth-conscious decisions,” Smith said.

There is no cost for students to participate — only a willingness to learn.

Students can sign up at: http://doodle.com/uu6aabtvucvneyp7