According to 2017 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the obesity rate for children ages 9 to 12 in Kentucky is 20.2%. The Montgomery County Extension Council identified childhood obesity as an important health issue facing the community. Recent research has indicated that teaching cooking skills to children encourages healthier food choices, which can lower obesity rates. In an effort to address this problem, the Montgomery County Family Consumer Science agent and Kentucky State Nutrition Education Program Assistant presented SuperStar Chef at the Montgomery County Extension Office. This two- day camp for students ages 9 through 12 is designed to teach kitchen safety, food safety, nutrition concepts, and physical activity. In addition, the students practiced food preparation skills with supervision.

Sixteen students (5 males and 11females) completed the pretest and posttest to examine the impact of the program on students’ nutrition knowledge and cooking self-efficacy. Overall, pre/post comparisons of participant responses to the assessment instrument showed that the program enhanced participant understanding of the nutrition concepts covered in the program. The average total score on the test increased from an average of 4.5 in the pretest to 1.8 in the posttest. The pre/posttest also included seven items that measured participants’ cooking self-efficacy, and analysis showed that participants’ total cooking self-efficacy score increased from 27.5 in the pretest to 34 in the posttest (out of a maximum of 36). Additionally, the posttest included a self-assessment of participants’ intentions to make healthy nutrition choices and be more physically active after participating in the SSC program. All of the respondents (100%) reported they can identify healthy foods, plan to be more physically active, plan to drink more water every day, and try new foods.