According to Harvard’s School of Public Health, “A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar, which can help keep appetite in check.”   Eating more fruits and vegetables could also help lessen the obesity rate, which in Campbell County is 36% (US Census Bureau, 2022).  Learning hands-on cooking skills can also improve your health because you learn how to prepare food using fresh, wholesome ingredients (Michigan State University, 2024).

In order to address these issues, the Campbell County family and consumer sciences agent and horticulture agent collaborated on an adult program titled Savoring the Seasons to an average of 20 participants.  Two more specialty classes, pasta/pesto making and pie making crust, were added by partnering with the nutrition education assistant and Kenton County family and consumer sciences agent.   The seven-part program was designed to build awareness about nutrition (by increasing fruit and vegetable intake), food preparation, food storage as well as providing information to gain small space gardening skills.  Seasonal crafts were also done in an order to practice mindfulness.  Agents provided seasonal Kentucky Proud Plate-It-Up recipe tastings along with a seasonal horticulture lesson. The participants worked in teams in order to prepare the recipes.

    End of the series written evaluations spanning over 12 months showed the following:

•    100% shared that after tasting the Plate-It-Up recipes, they bought more fruit and vegetables.

•    100% said the recipe cards will help them evaluate their nutritional needs.

•    100% shared that the information on the back of the recipe helped them make better decisions for produce selection and storage.

•    100% said their knowledge of making homemade pasta increased.

•    100% shared that their horticulture knowledge increased. 

•    94% said they planned on making the homemade pasta in the future. 

•    93% shared that they made the Plate-It-Up recipes at home as a result of this program.

•    93% have utilized Extension resources to help with their horticulture decisions.

Some of the participants’ comments from the program were the following:

1.    “I’ve tried new recipes and learned a lot of new things.”

2.    “I’ve learned new proper techniques for making and cooking pasta, and how easy it is to make pesto.” 

3.    “The class had a lot of good information on how to make a better pie crust (light and flakey). I will now be making more of my own pie crust at home instead of buying them.”