Casey County, though located in South Central Kentucky, is considered an Eastern Kentucky county due to its limited knowledge/access of healthy resources including fresh and/healthy food options. According to the Kentucky Kids Count, 64% of our children live in low-income households; ranking Casey County 100 out of 120 counties in the state. Out limited resources can create an obstacle for families to make smart and healthy decisions when feeding their family. As of 2018, 24% of children are living in food insecure households ranking Casey County 86 out of 120 counties (according to Kentucky Kids Count). By providing this educational program, youth were provided with resources to prepare healthy foods/meals to aid in making healthier lifestyle choices in regards to their food intake. 

SuperStar Chef is a two-day hands-on cooking and nutrition Cooperative Extension program originally created by Dr. Sandra Bastin. The program was designed to empower limited-resource youths with basic cooking skills so they can make the healthy choice the easy choice. Program content primarily focuses on hands-on food preparation skills, kitchen safety and appliance use, food safety procedures, nutrition education, and physical activity.

Twenty youth attended the two-day program learning kitchen and food safety including (but not limited to): properly measuring dry and wet ingredients, reading and following a recipe, safe knife skills, and safely using kitchen appliances. After participating in the program:

1. 95% strongly agree/agree they plan to drink less soda
2. 95% strongly agree/agree they plan to be more physically active
3. 95% strongly agree/agree they plan to try new foods

At the conclusion of the program, several participants inquired about additional cooking classes. We plan to continue this program annually in the spring/summer.