According to a report from The American Policy Youth Forum in Washington, DC in 2006, the importance of programs offered during out-of-school time (such as before-school, after-school, summer, and weekend) cannot be overemphasized. These programs provide youth with opportunities to enrich their lives with diverse, valuable activities that go beyond their classroom experiences. The Campbell County 4-H program conducted 6 one hour sessions with 17 third-fifth graders at Grant’s Lick Elementary School in an after school setting.  This year the focus was on eating more fruits and trying new fruits to hopefully add to their diet at home.

Using the 4-H Cooking 101 curriculum, the agent developed 6 lessons that incorporated basic recipe preparation, the importance of fruits in their diet, and trying new fruits.  The specific activities included: Fruit Sushi, Fruit Parfaits, and Fruit taste testing, A written evaluation was conducted at the end of the program.

According to the evaluation, 100% of the students learned a new recipe to make for their family. Comments on the evaluations included: “I tried fruit sushi. I really enjoyed trying something new. I also tried new fruits that were actually pretty good” and “I tried fruit sushi. I loved it. I would make it again at home."