When a Nonna steps into the kitchen, something
extraordinary happens.
At Nonnas of the World Community, empowerment does not begin with a classroom, a
microphone, or a formal title.
It begins with a woman being asked a simple question: would you like to cook with us?
Many of the women who become part of our community are older women whose lives
have become smaller over time. Some live alone. Some are widows. Some have spent
years cooking for family but have never imagined that their knowledge could be shared
publicly, celebrated, or passed on to people outside their own home.
At first, many are shy. They worry that their cooking is “just home cooking.” They are not
used to being seen as teachers, cultural ambassadors, or leaders.
And then they cook.
They bring the recipes they learned from mothers, grandmothers, villages, migrations,
holidays, losses, and family tables. They see guests respond with joy. They hear
questions. They receive respect. They discover that what they carry is not ordinary at all.
They open like flowers.
That is the heart of Nonnas Empowerment: helping older women recognize the value of
what they already know, and creating meaningful opportunities for them to share it with
others.
A pathway of growing confidence, visibility, and
leadership
The Nonnas Empowerment Program offers three levels of participation. Each level gives
women a way to share their knowledge, grow in confidence, and take on a larger role
within the community.
Some Nonnas begin by cooking once a month. Some go on to teach apprentices. A few
become trained community educators who bring food, culture, and connection into
schools, organizations, and corporate settings.
Every step is built around dignity, trust, and the belief that women’s lived experience is a
powerful form of knowledge.
Level 1: Become a Nonna
Sharing your food, your story, and your culture
The first level of Nonnas Empowerment begins in the kitchen.
A Nonna prepares a menu rooted in her own family, culture, region, and memory. She may
cook the dishes she learned as a girl, the food she made for her children, or the recipes
that connect her to the place she comes from.
For many women, this is the first time their home cooking is presented as something
worthy of public attention. What they once did quietly, privately, and often invisibly
becomes visible, appreciated, and celebrated.
This experience can be deeply transformative. A Nonna who was hesitant at first may
begin to stand taller. A woman who rarely left home may begin to feel part of a larger
community. A widow who felt isolated may rediscover joy, purpose, and companionship.
Becoming a Nonna is not about becoming a professional chef. It is about being recognized
as the keeper of a living cultural tradition.
What this level offers
At this level, a Nonna:
• shares dishes from her family, region, or country of origin;
• cooks with support from the Nonnas of the World Community team;
• is celebrated for her knowledge, skill, and cultural memory;
• connects with guests, volunteers, and other Nonnas;
• begins to experience her cooking as a gift with public value.
Why it matters
Older women often carry a lifetime of knowledge that is rarely recorded, paid attention to,
or passed on outside the family. When a Nonna cooks for the community, that knowledge
becomes visible.
Her recipes become stories.
Her skills become teaching.
Her presence becomes leadership.
Do you have a lifetime of cooking knowledge to share?
[Apply to Become a Nonna]
Level 2: Become a Nonna in Training Teacher
Passing knowledge from hand to hand
The second level of Nonnas Empowerment invites experienced Nonnas to become
teachers in the Nonna in Training program.
In this program, a participant works side by side with the Nonna of the day. The experience
is intimate, practical, and personal. The apprentice does not simply follow a recipe. She
learns by watching, tasting, touching, asking, and cooking alongside the Nonna.
This is how traditional food knowledge has always been passed down: not through
measurements alone, but through gestures, timing, memory, correction, and care.
A Nonna in Training Teacher helps bring that tradition back to life.
What this level offers
At this level, a Nonna:
• teaches one-on-one cooking experiences;
• explains the story and meaning behind her dishes;
• demonstrates techniques that may not be written in any recipe;
• helps participants understand the cultural context of the food;
• strengthens her own role as a mentor and teacher.
Why it matters
Many older women do not initially see themselves as teachers. Yet their knowledge is
precise, embodied, and irreplaceable.
When a Nonna teaches an apprentice, she realizes that what she knows can live on in
someone else’s hands.
The result is more than a cooking lesson. It is intergenerational transmission, cultural
preservation, and personal empowerment.
Would you like to learn directly from a Nonna, side by side in the kitchen?
[Explore our Nonnas in Training Program]
Level 3: Become a Community Culinary Educator
Bringing food, culture, and connection into the wider community
The third level of Nonnas Empowerment is for Nonnas who are ready to step into a more
public teaching role.
Community Culinary Educators represent the highest level of the program. These women
are able to bring the Nonnas of the World Community mission into schools, community
programs, and corporate settings.
They teach children and young people about food, culture, healthy eating, and the joy of
cooking together. They help students understand where food comes from, how meals
connect families, and why traditional cooking is a form of cultural knowledge.
They also lead food-based team-building activities for companies and organizations. In
these settings, cooking becomes more than an activity. It becomes a way to build trust,
cooperation, conversation, and shared experience.
Around a table, people who might not normally speak to each other begin to work together.
They chop, stir, taste, laugh, ask questions, and discover one another through food.
What this level offers
At this level, a Nonna may:
• teach school groups about cooking, culture, and healthy food;
• lead hands-on culinary workshops for children and young people;
• support educational programs connected to food heritage and nutrition;
• guide corporate teams through shared cooking experiences;
• use food as a tool for communication, belonging, and teamwork;
• serve as a cultural ambassador for the Nonnas of the World Community mission.
Why it matters
This level allows a Nonna to move from private knowledge to public leadership.
She is not only cooking.
She is teaching.
She is representing her culture.
She is helping others connect.
She is shaping the way younger generations think about food, family, and community.
For some women, this is a remarkable journey: from being hesitant to cook for strangers,
to standing in front of a classroom or a corporate group as a respected educator.
That journey is empowerment.
Would you like to bring a Nonna-led cooking and cultural experience to your school,
organization, or company?
[Explore NOTWC School Programs]
[Explore NOTWC Corporate Programs]
What empowerment means to us
Nonnas Empowerment is not about changing who these women are.
It is about creating the conditions for them to be seen.
We believe that older women are not finished contributing. They are not invisible. They are
not merely keepers of the past. They are teachers, culture bearers, mentors, healers, and
community builders.
Their knowledge has value.
Their stories have value.
Their presence has value.
When a Nonna shares her food, she gives more than a meal. She offers a way of
remembering, belonging, and connecting across generations and cultures.
And in the process, she often receives something back: confidence, recognition,
friendship, purpose, and joy.
The impact
Through the Nonnas Empowerment Program, women can:
• regain confidence after loss, isolation, or major life changes;
• share cultural knowledge that might otherwise disappear;
• form meaningful relationships with other women and community members;
• experience public appreciation for skills often taken for granted;
• become mentors to younger generations;
• grow into teaching and leadership roles at their own pace.
The program honors the quiet expertise of women whose work has nourished families for
decades.
Now, that work nourishes a wider community.
Help us grow Nonnas Empowerment
Nonnas Empowerment is possible because a community chooses to invest in older
women.
Your support helps us create the conditions that allow a Nonna to step into the kitchen,
gain confidence, teach others, and become visible as a keeper of culture, memory, and
skill.
A donation to Nonnas Empowerment helps us support women at every stage of this
journey:
• helping a new Nonna share her food, story, and cultural tradition with the
community;
• preparing experienced Nonnas to teach through the Nonna in Training program;
• supporting Nonnas who are ready to become Community Culinary Educators in
schools, organizations, and corporate programs;
• preserving recipes, techniques, and food memories that might otherwise disappear;
• creating moments of connection that reduce isolation and restore confidence,
purpose, and joy.
When you support this program, you are not simply funding a cooking activity.
You are helping an older woman be seen.
You are helping her knowledge be valued.
You are helping her story continue.
You are helping her become a teacher, a mentor, and a leader in her community.
For many Nonnas, this journey begins with one meal.
With your help, it can become so much more.
Support Nonnas Empowerment today and help more women share their food, their
culture, and their wisdom with the world.
[Donate to Nonnas Empowerment]