Between shelter-in-place mandates and the obvious social distancing that’s been taking place for more than five months, we’ve all learned some new skills. Embracing some of those things was enjoyable, like learning to meditate, speak a new language, or skateboard. Others were necessities like cooking, mixology, and ignoring your body odor after not showering for a week.
Though, companies have certainly tried to make money off our resistance to learning with increased curbside and delivery options, as well as cocktails-to-go. No one is complaining about cocktails-to-go, but sometimes you have to just figure the damn thing out yourself. On August 10, Whole Foods announced a free online program that will help you figure some things out. It’s called Home Ec 365, and you can sign up for classes now. It’s like high school, except the announcement uses words like “adulting” and “influencers.” So, you’ll have to deal with that.
The free online classes are a twist on home ec classes. They’re for the adult who refuses to learn skills that would obviously be useful but kind of sound like a lot of work. When you sign up, you’re going to get Whole Foods coupons for free products that you’ll use in your class. They’re “school supplies.” Though, only the first 2,500 “students” are getting the coupons and free groceries.
The classes include “Sway-Savvy Baking,” in which Joy Wilson (@joythebaker) teaches you how to adjust recipes when you run out of staples like butter or eggs. Then there’s “So Fresh & So Clean,” taught by Jessica Tull (@jessica_tull_), where you learn how to clean appliances. One hopes that’s more fun than it sounds because there’s a reason my appliances are filthy.
There’s also “Use ‘Em Up! How to Transform Food Scraps & Leftover,” where chef Sophia Roe (@sophia_roe) shows you how to use those extra pieces of produce and leftovers you might have otherwise thrown out. The last one is “Smarter Shopping: Save, Stock & Invest,” taught by Bobby Parrish (@flavcity), which is about, ahem, smarter shopping. Also, it’s about “investment ingredients” and organizing your pantry.
The description of the teachers as influencers might turn you away, but if you get over that part you might actually learn something in these classes that you’ll be able to carry far beyond the days when your options are making every meal yourself or having a masked person drop a bag of hot food on your doorstep.
Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.
