6abc Action News Features WCU’s Famous Ram Chefs!
Powered by a mighty nutrition professor who came up with a delicious way to help young adults
with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) in the community gain cooking independence
and self-confidence, the Ram Chef Program provides culinary instruction, nutrition
education and food safety skills to eager young adults with IDD during the academic
year in the Food Sensory Lab located in the Sciences & Engineering Center and The
Commons. In the popular program, Ram Chefs are paired with WCU student nutrition coaches
for personal instruction. Professor of Nutrition Jeanie Subach, a registered dietitian
and board-certified sports specialist dietician, came up with the idea in 2019 and
began the program with just three students. Today, the popular Ram Chef Program boasts
a number of young adults with IDD from the community who work with student volunteers
every Wednesday evening during the academic year.
Each semester the Ram Chefs prepare snacks for the WCU Athletic Fueling Station. In addition to cooking, the participants maintain a Ram Chef garden from May through November. There’s more! The Ram Chefs will also prepare sport fuel and meals for the upcoming 2024 Camp Abilities PA @ WCU during Memorial Day weekend.
“Several of our Ram Chefs have been coming to campus since they were six years-old,” Subach added. “Ram Chef TJ is the biggest WCU sports fan! He goes to all the men's and women's basketball games, and knows the stats of every player. Our Ram Chefs are a big part of WCU. We see that teaching adults with IDD to perform activities to promote independence, with the least amount of assistance, improves their self-determination and independence.”