The Scott County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension Agent collaborated with Southern Elementary School administrators and teachers within the Scott County School District to offer the Recipes for Life Program to 72 fifth-grade students. Over 25 volunteers worked with students in a hands-on educational setting to teach important life skills. Additionally, all Scott County Extension Office Staff assisted with the program. 

Prior to the program the FCS Agent taught lessons at Southern Elementary school including: Food Safety (Wash Your Hands), The Recipe, Meal Planning, Keep Foods Apart, Keep the Kitchen Safe, Measurement Skills, and Knife Skills. 

Once the initial lessons were completed at the school, the youth were able to attend the Recipes for Life program at the Scott County Extension Office. Each student was assigned to 1 of 10 groups and where bale to prepare Tomato Basil Bruschetta, Backed Chicken Nuggets, Thyme-Roasted Carrots, Broccoli Spoonbread, Honey Butter Corn, and/or Fruit Crush Smoothie. Additionally, every student was able to blend their smoothie using the “Blender Bike” a stationary bike that powers a blender when peddled.

A pre-test/post­test evaluation was conducted to determine learning outcomes. As a result of the program, students gained the following knowledge and skills: 100% recognized the recommended handwashing steps, 83.33% identified the importance of using separate cutting boards for meat and fruits or vegetables, and 82% identified best practices for kitchen clean-up. Additionally, 83.33% recognized the food groups that comprise MyPlate, 97% identified correct technique for accurately measuring ingredients, and 83.33% identified safe knife handling techniques.

In addition to the quantitative results from the post-test, as a result of attending the Recipe for Life program, a majority of the students plan to make the behavioral changes including, to eat more fruits, eat more vegetables, and try new foods.

Feedback was collected from the youth, some notable testimonials include, “this was my favorite field trip ever,” “this was awesome,” “I am never allowed to cook at home, so this was super cool,” and “thank you for teaching me, I learned so much!”