The University of Kentucky with the Cooperative Extension Service Offices and the Nutrition Education Programs is recognized for the quality of the courses for youth and adults that are delivered throughout the state at the Cooperative Extension Offices. These programs include basic cooking, nutrition, knife handling, food safety, and life skills in general. They also get incentives like a backpack with a recipe book, Chop-Chop magazines, recipe cards, and cooking utensils to make the food preparation easier.

For years, these programs have been delivered in person, but for over a year, we have been delivering these programs virtually.  One wonderful thing that has come up with being virtually is that the children that have participated in these programs in the past are now showing how they are applying the cooking skills they have learned. Even though we have new students every time we have a new program, we still have a group of youth participants that just love to come back.

When we had the Super Star Chef program 3 years ago in July 2018, a six years old boy was accepted by the Super Star Chef trainers to participate in the program along with his 9-year-old sister. He did great and showed that at his early was able to follow all instructions, showed good skills in both cooking and safety handling.

In 2021, we created the online virtual program “Cooking around the World” for our youth participants; we introduce healthy recipes from other countries, their customs, traditions, and location on the map. These virtual lessons gave kids the opportunity to learn, cook and eat together with their parents and siblings.

We have new students every year as well as our former participants. This time we had two new kids that had not been in our programs in the past and were having a hard time making their recipes at home. Our two former participants volunteer to teach the new kids the basics of cooking and guide them to make the recipes at their house since they had been in our programs for more than 3 years. They also had their parents supervising them.

 They expressed that it was very gratifying teaching her friends, now they are thinking of becoming a teacher and a Chef. Other participants commented that they love trying new recipes from other countries and sharing them with their families. Watching these children grow, learn and teach others makes us recognize that all of the efforts, time, and dedication we put into our programs are worthy.

The Nutrition Education Programs will continue to be delivered virtually or in person, we know the importance of having these programs that help prepare our children for the present and future. We are looking forward to having a healthier community.