The Kentucky 4-H Passport Kitchen program provided 426 young people from Kentucky the opportunity to experience the food cultures of different countries in a self-paced experience. As part of the 4-H Passport Kitchen program, young people received six country kits in the mail during a six-week window. These kits provided all the needed instructions to complete a recipe, a video explaining the recipe, one ingredient for the recipe, information about the country, and a worksheet to help them explore beyond the kit. The self-driven and on-your-own design of the program allowed young people and their families to engage in it as part of their mealtime experience. The materials in the kits also gave young people and their families the opportunity to explore cultures that are oftentimes not their own. 

The exploration of other cultures and views is a critical part of a young person's development and helps them form a prosocial orientation as well as a growth mindset. Exploring cultures different from their own helps young people understand there are many ways of doing a single thing, and while these ways are different, one is not necessarily better than the other. 100% of youth who participated reported learning about another culture. Exploring through food provided an opportunity for young people to experience this exploration using the shared experience of eating. The combination of a food-driven cultural exploration along with the ability to participate in the program as a family unit doubled impact. Young people were able to explore cultures outside their own as well as receive the benefit of regular family mealtimes.

Research tells us that having regular meals with caring adults provides a host of benefits to the development of young people. Of the 426 young people who participated in the program, 57% reported an increase in meals eaten together as a family unit. This increase is important because studies show regular family meals foster a sense of security and togetherness and help nurture the development of young people into healthy, well-rounded adults. When family meals are frequent an increase in motivation, personal identity, and self-esteem in young people occurs. Family mealtime also helps decrease high-risk behaviors and makes young people more likely to understand, acknowledge, and follow the boundaries set by their guardians. These social benefits are also matched by the health benefits of family mealtime. Eating studies show family dinners increase the intake of fruits and vegetables; families who eat dinner together tend to eat fewer fried foods and drink less soda; and family meal frequency is linked to the intake of protein, calcium, and some vitamins.

One final outcome of the Passport Kitchen program is the increase in kitchen confidence among youth in the program. 88% of young people reported preparing meals together as a family and 79% reported an increase in confidence in the kitchen. Of the 426 young people who participated in the Passport Kitchen Program in Kentucky 23 were from Hardin County and twelve of those were from military families.

References 

4-H Thriving Model Educator Resources – 4-H PLWG Standing Committee on Positive Youth Development. (n.d.). https://helping-youth-thrive.extension.org/tip-sheets/

The Importance of Family Dinners - UF/IFAS Extension: Solutions for Your Life. (n.d.). https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/archive/hot_topics/families_and_consumers/family_dinners.shtml