Success StoryCook Together, Eat Together



Cook Together, Eat Together

Author: Janet Mullins

Planning Unit: Dietetics and Human Nutrition

Major Program: Cook Together, Eat Together

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

Making half your plate fruits and vegetables is one of the most potent ways Americans can eat a healthier diet. However, making this dietary change in the current food environment is challenging, especially in regard to vegetable consumption. In 2012, a proposal for a social marketing project to promote healthy, home cooked meals was developed for limited resource families with young children. Over the next five years, two pilot test waves were conducted. Iterative monitoring, evaluation, and revision were implemented. Program evaluations demonstrate that participants increase fruit and vegetable intake by 1 cup per day, or 20% of the recommended intake. In 2020, a peer-reviewed academic paper was published in a special food security issue of Translational Behavioral Medicine. In 2021, a cookbook to accompany the Extension program Cook Together, Eat Together was published. The program is now available throughout Kentucky and to other states. Cook Together, Eat Together will be presented at the 2022 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences meeting. The curriculum has been updated for use by Nutrition Education Program Assistants in Kentucky beginning in fall 2022.






Stories by Janet Mullins


Cook Together, Eat Together

about 3 years ago by Janet Mullins

Making half your plate fruits and vegetables is one of the most potent ways Americans can eat a heal... Read More


Stories by Dietetics and Human Nutrition


An Innovative Partnership to Increase Food Security Among Young Children and Families Served by Community Action Council in South Central Kentucky

about 3 years ago by Courtney Luecking

The lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life in early childhood can have... Read More


Engaging Community Members to Expand Cooperative Extension’s Reach for Delivering Health Promotion Programming in Rural Areas

about 3 years ago by Courtney Luecking

According to the 2020 Americas Health Rankings, Kentucky ranks 44 for overall health and 49 for nutr... Read More