Fruit and vegetable consumption among youth in the United States consistently falls short of the USDA recommendations. Research has shown that youth are more likely to consume fruits and vegetables when they are involved in the cooking process. Youth nutrition and cooking classes can positively impact food preferences, attitudes toward cooking, and cooking confidence.

The NEP Super Star Chef Camp is a hands-on youth nutrition education and cooking program designed to enhance participants' nutrition knowledge, food preparation skills, cooking self-efficacy, and intention to eat more fruits and vegetables. Limited-resource youth ages 9-12 attend a 3-day cooking and nutrition “camp” at the Extension office to learn these concepts.

University of Kentucky’s Nutrition Education Program funds several counties each year to implement SSC through the SNAP-Ed grant. In the 2023-2024 grant year, 18 counties were funded to implement the program, reaching over 450 youth. In addition to the SNAP-Ed funded implementation, 4H and FCS Extension Agents implemented the NEP SSC Camp with county funding, reaching 659 participants. 91% of participants reported the intention to try new foods, 81% reported an intention to eat more fruits, and 80% reported an intention to spend more time in the kitchen preparing meals. The NEP SSC Camp provided participants with kitchen tools such as measuring cups and cutting mats and supplied each participant with a recipe and cooking instruction booklet to further reinforce these messages.

Adedokun, O. A., Bastin, S., Plonski, P., Najor, J., & Cotterill, D. (2020). Outcome evaluation of the super star chef summer youth nutrition education program. The Journal of Extension, 58(2), 13.