Research shows that preparing and eating meals at home can have positive impact on families by strengthening family ties and leading to better physical and mental health.  In an effort to encourage more families to make family mealtime a priority, Family & Consumer Science Agents in the Wilderness Trail Area organized and conducted a Wilderness Trail Area Holiday Cooking School focused on family meal preparation.  250 participants from the eight counties from the Wilderness Trail Area attended the cooking school.  Each participant had the opportunity to sample recipes enabling participants to try new ways to prepare food.  Participants also observed a presentation on cooking techniques, a presentation on saving money by decorating from nature and received a cookbook of all recipes. As a direct result of the program in a written evaluation:

• 89% learned new cooking techniques

• 96% learned simple ways to set a beautiful table

• 99% learned new recipes that they plan to use at home

• 99% learned ways to save money by decorating from nature