In Whitley County, 26% of children are living in poverty. (Ref: www.countyhealthrankings.org ). This is quite a higher percentage as per the national and Kentucky values for children living under poverty lines. The percentage of children living in poverty ranges from 17% to 31%, varying by racial and ethnic groups. Whitley County SNAP-Ed has been doing summer camps for teaching basic cooking skills to children. SNAP-Ed uses the Rookie Cooking Camp (RCC) curriculum that includes four pillars of nutrition and wellness: My Plate, Reading Labels, Food Safety, and Physical Activity. This is a four-day camp that runs usually from 9 am to 1 pm and kids make their own lunch every day. The recipes are kid-friendly, and they come from the SNAP menus.

This year we collaborated with the Corbin School District and the Berea College Promise Neighborhood. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, we could have 10 kids at a time in the camp. All the children participating in the camp were 4^th and 5^th graders. The camp was a great success. Kids were given the recipe cards. We were told that they cooked those recipes with their families again at home. This is the kind of impact that goes beyond the few days of experience at the camp.

We feel that cooking-related programs for kids have the potential to improve children’s diet quality because research has shown that cooking involvement is associated with more positive food choices. We worked with volunteers, who also learned new things along with trying new foods.

Below are some of the comments by our sweet program participants:

“I never try mushrooms in my omelets, it tasted good” (5^th grader girl).

“I learned how to make a wrap and fold it to keep the food inside”.