The Todd County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program hosted Super Star Chef camp in June. Twenty-one children attended at least one of the days. At the end of the four day camp, seventeen (17) respondents completed pre- and posttests.

Overall, pre-post comparisons of participant responses to the assessment instrument show that the program enhanced participant understanding of the nutrition concepts covered in the program. The average total score on the test increased from 11.18 in the pretest to 14.29 in the posttest (out of a maximum of 15). The pre-posttest also included seven items that measured participants’ cooking self-efficacy. Responses to these seven items were summed to create a cooking self-efficacy score. Pre-post analysis showed that participants’ cooking self-efficacy increased from 26.88 in the pretest to 31.82 in the posttest (out of a maximum of 32).

The posttest also included eight (8) self-assessment of learning gains items. These items asked the participants to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that they learned the concepts described in each statement. All the respondents (100%) agreed/strongly agreed that they learned about the amount of fruits and vegetables they should have on their plates; learned how to read recipes; and learned about how germs can be transferred to food. Moreover, 94% of the participants learned about how to wash their hands to remove germs; learned how to read nutrition labels; and the correct way to hold a knife for cutting. Also, all but one of the participants (94.1%) plan to eat more fruits and vegetables after participating in the program.