40 Developmental Assets have tremendous power to protect youth from many different harmful or unhealthy choices according to the Search Institutes article on the “Power of Assets”. Family meals, literacy and nutrition are essential life skills and are key components of many of the 40 Development Assets. 

The Pendleton County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent in collaboration with six administrators and eight teachers from the Pendleton County School District, both the North and South Family Resource Directors and the local health department offered the Recipe for Life program to 223 fifth grade students. 40 Adult volunteers and 40 high school student volunteers worked with students in a hands-on-educational setting to teach important life skill that strengthen the Assets as identified by the Search Institute. 

A pretest/posttest evaluation was conducted to determine learning outcomes. As a result of the program, students gained the following knowledge and skills during the program: proper handwashing, knife safety, kitchen safety, cross contamination safety, how to prepare and read a recipe, math skills to double or half a recipe, how to correctly measure dry and wet ingredients, time management skill for order of preparing recipes for a meal, manners and MyPlate.

At the completion of the program students reported:

94% strongly agreed that they planned to eat more fruit

85 % agreed they plan to eat more vegetables

92 % planned to try new foods and

92 % planned to help more in the kitchen at home

In a follow-up evaluation with parents of students attending the program the following changes were noticed:

75% said their child was eating more fruits and vegetables

87% stated their child has tried new food or recipes

84 % reported child wash hand more often

75 % demonstrated practicing knife safety skills

And 84% have stepped in and helped more at home with meal preparation and clean up.

Some additional parent comments included:

“Thank you for helping teach my child these learn these important life skills”

“All three of my children have now participated in this program and it is truly amazing”

“My child is helping more in the kitchen than before attending program and is more interested in cooking and helping prepare meals”

Several student wrote a letter of thanks for the program stating how much they enjoyed the program. One student wrote in part of their letter:

“Thank you for an amazing field trip. My favorite part was the apple bird where I learned knife safety. I also learned a lot about safety in the kitchen and how to wash my hands and when to wash my hands. Working with the other students and the adult and high school student in my group was so much fun. My favorite field trip ever, thank you.”

The facts are on the table: eating dinner together every night keeps the doors of communication open. Sitting across the table is where and when you can find out more about your children’s likes, dislikes, and daily life. The “Recipe for Life” family project, as testified through parents of those attending the program, helped their family reap the benefits of eating and preparing meals together that will last long after their meal ends.