According to America's Health Rankings, only 8.9% of Kentucky adults reported consuming two or more fruits and three or more vegetables daily in 2021. Half of all adults living in the US have conditions or chronic diseases related to poor diet and physical inactivity. Additionally, 37.7% of adults in Kentucky are classified as obese. Obesity is associated with an increased rick of developing serious health conditions.

To combat this issue, the second grade teachers at the elementary schools in Lewis County asked the 4-H Agent to provide the Professor Popcorn curriculum. The program took place once a month at each school for five months. The 4-H Agent met with each 2nd grade class for 45 minutes to discuss nutrition, healthy living, and food groups. Each lesson consisted of interactive learning experiences, including discussions on each of the five food groups, a quick physical activity, and a tasting party. The goal of this program was to educate students on how to live a healthier life, to teach students how to classify different foods, and to make youth more receptive to trying healthy foods.

This program reached 155 first and second graders at the four elementary schools in Lewis County. The program implemented the concept of a "No Thank You Bite." This means that each child takes one bite of the food offered at the tasting party. If they do not like the food, they can say, "No, thank you," and will not have to eat more of the food. By introducing this concept, the youth were far more receptive to trying new foods. As a result, many youth found new foods that they liked! At the end of the entire program, 89.93% of participants were able to accurately recognize when kids were being active. 78.42% were able to identify healthy snacks, 71.94% were able to identify vegetables, and 71.94% were able to identify fruits.