A university lecturer told me recently that a significant portion of her first-year students can’t cook a basic meal from scratch. Not a complicated meal. A basic one. Rice and a stir-fry. Pasta with a simple sauce. An omelette. They’ve reached adulthood without learning how to feed themselves, and they’re living on instant noodles, UberEats, and whatever their parents send in care packages.

This isn’t their fault. It’s ours.

How we got here

Home economics was once a standard part of Australian secondary education. Not everywhere, and not always well taught, but it existed as a subject where students learned to cook, understand nutrition, manage a household budget, and think about food.

Over the past two decades, it’s been progressively marginalised. In many states, it’s an elective rather than a core subject. Schools facing budget pressure have converted food technology rooms into IT labs. The subject has been rebranded as “Food Technology” and in some implementations has shifted focus from practical cooking skills to food science and design thinking — interesting, but not the same as learning to make dinner.

The result is a generation of young Australians who have strong opinions about food on social media but can’t chop an onion.

Why it matters

The practical consequences are significant.

Health. People who can cook eat better. This isn’t controversial — the research is overwhelming. Home-cooked meals have, on average, fewer calories, less sodium, less sugar, and more nutrients than processed or takeaway food. Cooking skills are one of the strongest predictors of diet quality.

Economics. The inability to cook is expensive. A home-cooked meal for one person costs $4-8 in ingredients. A delivery meal costs $20-35. For a young person earning entry-level wages, that difference over a week is significant.

Independence. Knowing how to feed yourself is a fundamental life skill. We teach kids to read, to do maths, to use computers. We should also teach them to cook a meal, read a nutrition label, and manage a weekly food budget.

Environment. People who cook from scratch generate less packaging waste, waste less food (because they understand ingredients and portions), and are more connected to where their food comes from.

The “but parents should teach this” argument

Sure. In an ideal world, every parent would teach their kids to cook. But many parents don’t cook much themselves. Many families have both parents working full-time with limited evening capacity. Some parents never learned to cook either.

Relying on families to teach cooking skills reproduces existing inequalities. Kids from families with time, resources, and food knowledge learn to cook. Kids from families without those things don’t. School is the equaliser. That’s literally what it’s for.

What good food education looks like

I’ve visited several Australian schools that are doing food education well, and the common elements are:

Practical skills first. Students cook actual meals, not just learn theory. They chop, they sautee, they roast, they bake. By the end of a year, they can prepare several complete meals from scratch.

Nutrition integrated naturally. Instead of abstract nutrition lessons, the nutritional content of food is discussed in the context of what they’re cooking. Why does this recipe use brown rice? What does protein do? How much salt is in that sauce?

Budgeting included. Students plan meals for a week within a budget. They compare ingredient costs, learn about unit pricing, and understand the economics of eating well on limited money.

Cultural food knowledge. In a multicultural country, food education should reflect the diversity of food traditions. Students learn to cook dishes from multiple cuisines, which builds both skill and cultural understanding.

Connection to production. Some schools include garden programs where students grow ingredients they then cook with. This connection between growing and eating changes kids’ relationship with food in measurable ways.

The Jamie Oliver effect

When Jamie Oliver campaigned for better school food in the UK, the public response was huge. In Australia, we’ve had moments of attention — the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has done extraordinary work, and there have been state-level initiatives — but there’s been no sustained national commitment to food education.

The funding isn’t there. The curriculum priority isn’t there. And as long as food education remains an optional extra rather than a core requirement, it’ll continue to be cut when budgets get tight.

What I’d want

Mandatory food education for every Australian student from Year 7 to Year 10. Practical cooking skills, basic nutrition, food budgeting, and food sustainability. Properly funded, with equipped kitchens and trained teachers.

Is it expensive? Yes. Is it more expensive than the health costs of a population that can’t feed itself properly? Not even close.

Teaching kids to cook is one of the highest-return investments a society can make. We used to understand that. It’s time we remembered.