Author: Stacey Potts
Planning Unit: Daviess County CES
Major Program: Family and Consumer Science
Plan of Work: Fostering Life Skills Education in Youth and Families
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
4-H Cooking programs are a very popular request for after-school programs and clubs in Daviess County. According to the American Heart Association, teaching youth how to prepare their own food will give them a skill they can use for a lifetime, they will be more likely to eat healthier as adults and build self- confidence. (Cooking With Your Children; Web MD; May 30, 2008.) 4-H Cooking programs give youth the very appealing opportunity to cook and eat, while providing Cooperation Extension and 4-H Staff additional opportunity to teach much more. 4-H Cooking programs introduce important food safety topics such as handwashing, cross-contamination, and keeping hot foods hot, and cold foods cold; all of which, when properly practiced can help prevent food borne illness. In a time where so many families reach for prepared foods and snacks, 4-H Cooking introduces nutritious recipes for snacks and meals which can be made inexpensively and quickly at home. Additionally, some research shows that if kids help prepare a food dish, they are more likely to try it. (Children eat more food when they prepare it themselves; NIH; February 1, 2019)
In cooking programs provided at two different schools, over 200 youth participants in grades 4 and 5 made recipes from approved sources Plan. Eat. Move. and 4-H Cooking 101. Recipes included: Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits, Buttermilk Pancakes, Colorful Quesadillas, and Enchilada Rice. Programs also incorporated MyPlate nutrition information and food safety. A post evaluation survey indicated that 74% of the participants tried something new and over 50% made at least one of the recipes at home.
Daviess County 4-H provided a series of six healthy living based programs for eighteen 3rd -5th grad... Read More
Unintentional injury, while declining, remains the leading cause of death among children ages 19 and... Read More
Land utilized for corn and soybean production comprises approximately 122,000 acres, more than 40% o... Read More
Extension Master Gardener volunteers deliver science-based horticultural information to help cliente... Read More