INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An after-school program for aspiring chefs is looking for its next class of students. Applications for this year’s Junior Chef Academy are now open.

The Junior Chef Academy is for students 12 to 15 years old. The program was created to combat food insecurity by teaching kids how to work with fresh food.

According to Feeding America, one in seven Hoosiers face food insecurity.

Lead Chef Ross Katz says that by teaching kids kitchen skills, they hope to break the cycle behind food insecurity.

“We find that for a lot of students — especially grade school — the default is a lot of canned food, packaged food,” Katz said. “We really want to encourage students to embrace fresh ingredients and to kind of push themselves in the kitchen.”

The Junior Chef Academy is a 17-week program that starts with 10 weeks of basic skills, where students like Emma Boyd learn a new kitchen skill every week.

On Friday, Boyd cooked up fried rice in the WISH-TV studios for News 8’s Daybreak. She says everything she learned in the Junior Chef Academy set her up for success.

“Ever since I was about nine or so, I have wanted to move to Italy when I’m older,” Boyd said. “I want to open my own restaurant there. I would not only like to be the owner but also the head chef. I will be cooking and serving American homestyle food.”

The program then continues with four weeks in the summer and another three in the fall.

Organizers hope the skills students learn can also be used in future jobs or for more advanced culinary programs —eventually leading to economic mobility.

Katz says Junior Chef Academy is for kids with all kinds of interests.

“It’s not so much about the type of kid,” Katz explained. “It’s really about the desire to want to work with food and the desire to learn about what they can do in the kitchen.”

The final weeks of lessons end with a group of competitions, that could see some students compete at the World Food Championships, which will be held in Indianapolis for the second year in a row.

To apply for the Junior Chef Academy, visit the program’s website. Tryouts and interviews are on Monday at Paramount Englewood, 3029 E. Washington St., Indianapolis.