The Whitley County EFNEP Assistant and the local middle school, in partnership with the 21st Century Afterschool Program, recognized a critical need among youth:  essenetial life skills for their future success.  One such skill, the ability to prepare cost-effective and nutritious meals at home, had declined due to busy schedules, afterschool activities and working caregivers, leading to increased reliance on fast food.  

The Cooking Club emerged to address this challenge by equipping youth with the knowledge to create healthy, budget-friendly meals that could be purchased using SNAP benefits.  Youth were also given various low cost recipes.  They prepared and sampled the recipes during their weekly cooking club meetings.Whitley County also had to deal with a pressing issue, as 18.5% of its children experienced food insecutiry, according to 2020 data from Kids Count.

As part of the 21st Century Program, an audit was conducted in 2022, focusing on the afterschool activities.  During this audit, youth showcased their culinary skills, emphasing the importance of empowering young individuals to combat food insecurity and practice food safety.  Remarkably, the auditor, despite her age, gained valuable insights into food safety during the food prep demonstration, highlighting that learning knows no age limits.

This experience underscored the significance of community collaboration in empowering youth and addressing food insecurity.  The youth felt empowered by the auditor's compliments, and it reinforced the importance of these collective efforts.