Students are growing up nationwide without the opportunities or experiences needed to build skills and maintain self sufficiency for independence into adulthood. One of the ways that our youth is suffering the most is that they lack culinary skills and competence in the kitchen to create nutritious meals for themselves and others.  This trend begins with students in late elementary and middle school ages but continues into generations of adulthood.  By offering cooking programs to students and families, Extension can increase culinary competence and nutritional awareness, which strengthens our local family units.

The Madison County FCS Agent partnered with the Foley FRC director, to offer a 6 week long afterschool cooking club for their students.  The students stayed after school for about an hour and 15mins where they got to learn basic cooking skills, and prepare a variety of new recipes each week. The club hosted 20 students who could be in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and signed up first come first serve.  This school is enrolled in a free lunch program due to the demographics of the students in Madison county. The FCS Agent used Teen Cuisine lessons and materials with the students and used a couple supplemental recipes from Plan Eat Move and Plate It Up to tailor the program to the interests of the students attending.  The students learned things such as: reading a nutrition label, cooking vocabulary, how to read a recipe, how to measure ingredients properly, knife skills, how to preheat ovens, how to use heat settings on a stove top.  The students in this club were predominately white female students, but also hosted 3 white males and 4 biracial females and half of the students are considered at-risk youth. 

As a result of the Foley Afterschool Cooking Club the students noted that:

90% Tasted a new fruit or vegetable and liked it.

95% Noted that they learned a new food preparation technique- such as knife skills or measuring

80% Reported that they learned something new to improve their personal nutrition. 

100% Reported that they all learned at least one new recipe that they liked and would take home to replicate with their families.