Okay maybe this isnt the best demographics here but like I mean as in if you know someone who’s Gen Z, do they have a “idk how to cook” issue?
(Please don’t be like “omg its easy, how could you not know” in the comments, be nice in the comments okay 🙈)
Its been noted in studies that all generations starting from Boomers have had less people who “know how to cook”. With instant meals came less cooking, and less cooking brought less learning how to cook.
I think that isn’t the issue. The problem is that “proper” food costs more than prefabs, and Cost-of-Living keeps growing while worker wages are stagnant. It is harder to afford perishable food that needs to be handcrafted, because that costs time, risks spoilage, and costs more for what it does.
Money is getting tighter, and consequently every loss feels worse.
I think it’s probably a bit of both, skill being lost to parents having less time to cook and everything being more expensive.
The cheapest way I know of one can survive a very long time is rice and beans with any source of fat. I personally like peanut butter, but understand that’s very much a US thing. But prepping beans over night requires having the time and know-how to do it.