We’re in an obesity epidemic and most people don’t know how to cook even very basic meals.
Make space for it, squish other classes if you need. Make it mandatory, everyone has to take it. Maybe even ongoing through multiple grades.
Edit: Rice, beans, and even basic meats are cheap. To eat healthy you don’t need your meal to be 100% Bell peppers and tomatoes.
No, as far as I can tell, none of the schools my kids attended had any Home Ec. Even back “in the good old days”, my high school had Home Ec, but it wasn’t recommended for kids on the college track.
One school did have personal finance though, and it was taught well enough to interest my older kid. I don’t know what they covered for taxes