The National Survey of Children’s Health reported that in 2022-2023, 17.0% of youth ages 6 to 17 had obesity. According to this same data, Kentucky is ranked the 13^th state with the highest obesity rate at 18.7%. Green County FCS conducted a one-day Teen Cooking Camp that focused on introducing middle school and high school age students to the world of health, nutrition, and learning their way around the kitchen in a hands-on environment. This class was presented to give teens the opportunity to learn and make their own food, so they gravitate towards healthier options. The Teen Cuisine curriculum was adapted to meet the one-day camp schedule, so this program consisted of Food Safety/ hand Washing, Measuring Skills, Knife Skills, Reading a Recipe, and MyPlate. They got to create three different recipes that were their breakfast, lunch, and dessert for the day. Lastly, they got to take part in cleaning up their workstations and placing everything back in their designated areas. 

Three teens participated in this program coming from various towns to participate. One teen traveled over an hour and half long from Anderson County , KY to participate in this program. They even went to say that they would travel that distance again for another program because of how much they enjoyed the hands-on experience. The students were asked to complete a survey at the end of the program about the recipes that they created and if they would change how, it was taught or made. The recipe with the top-rated score was an omelet, which all three students said that they thought was amazing and would make this at home. One student stated that they wanted to make it for their parents for breakfast that next morning! Although it wasn’t a large turn out, I would say it was very impactful on the students! 

https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/demographic-data/ages-6-17/