Family meals provide a range of benefits for adults and children, including more nutritious eating patterns, better academic outcomes, lower rates of depression, enhanced communication, and strong family bonds. Families in Kentucky understand the relationship between food and health and want to teach children how to cook. But they often reporting being short on time, ideas, cooking skills, and money for preparing nutritious meals and dread the clean up after.

Cook Together, Eat Together is an evidence-based program created by Kentucky Cooperative Extension to facilitate cooking socials that teach and inspire families to prepare and share healthy, low-cost family meals together. As part of the Laurel HARVEST grant project, the Laurel County Family & Consumer Sciences agent worked with state specialists to modify the program to better meet the needs of families in Laurel County. Instead of eight in-person sessions, we held two in-person sessions and four virtual sessions, each lasting one hour. Featured recipes included breakfast dishes, one-pot meals, vegetables, salads, and snacks. Ingredients for at-home preparation were provided. The recipes also provided several opportunities to learn about and practice various cooking skills like measuring, stirring, sauteing, tossing, peeling, slicing, chopping, and more. The grant also allowed the Laurel County office to provide program learning materials to support implementation of cooking skills at home. Program materials included: chef knife, cookie sheet, oven mitt, measuring spoons and cups, apron, vegetable peeler, their choice of a slower cooker or stock pot and a copy of the Cook Together, Eat Together cookbook. 

In late spring 2025, the Cook Together Eat Together series kicked off with 25 people aged 6 weeks to more than 80 years. Two families had four generations present to make breakfast foods together. The combination of in-person and virtual sessions allowed group participants to get to know each other while also building skills in the comfort of their home kitchens. No matter the class format, participants were engaged with the content and each other 

Of the seven adults who completed research measures before and after the series, 43% reported increased daily fruit consumption and 29% reported increased daily vegetable consumption. At the last session, families signed each other’s cookbooks like yearbooks and asked about how they could continue to learn more about cooking together.   Some quotes included:

"My mom has learned how to cook. I would not eat anything she made until now. Thanks for helping my mom learn to cook!"

"We have made Tuesday night our cooking together evening.  We look forward to getting everyone in the kitchen and everyone helping out with the meals." 

"Thank you for these amazing gifts that we received through the program.  I always wanted a slow cooker but never had the extra money to buy one.  I am so excited to be able to use this now!"

Offering programming like Cook Together Eat Together can help families overcome barriers to include children in the process of cooking nutritious family meals at home. Intergenerational cooking experiences can help transmit memories, knowledge, and skills that can positively impact eating behaviors and the health of all.