The Pendleton County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent in collaboration with six administrators and eight teachers from the Pendleton County School District, both the North and South Family Resource Directors and the local health department offered the Recipe for Life program to 217 fifth grade students.  40 Adult volunteers and 40 high school student volunteers worked with students in a hands-on-educational setting to teach important life skill that strengthen the Assets as identified by the Search Institute.  

A pretest/posttest evaluation was conducted to determine learning outcomes.  As a result of the program, students gained the following knowledge and skills during the program: proper handwashing, knife safety, kitchen safety, cross contamination safety, how to prepare and read a recipe, math skills to double or half a recipe, how to correctly measure dry and wet ingredients, time management skill for order of preparing recipes for a meal, manners and MyPlate.

At the completion of the program students reported:

Nutrition knowledge improved from 10.37 in prestest to 13.37 in posttest out of a score of 17.  Similarly, cooking self-efficacy increased to 25.76 of a score of 32.

85% strongly agreed that they planned to eat more fruit

75 % agreed they plan to eat more vegetables

90 % planned to try new foods and

92 % planned to help more in the kitchen at home

In a follow-up evaluation with parents of students attending the program the following changes were noticed:

65% said their child was eating more fruits and vegetables

83% stated their child has tried new food or recipes

74 % reported child wash hand more often

71 % demonstrated practicing knife safety skills

And 64% have stepped in and helped more at home with meal preparation and clean up.

Several student wrote letter of thanks for the program stating how much they enjoyed the program.  One student wrote in part of their letter:

“this was the first time I have gotten to cook.  I hope I can help at home more often”

The facts are on the table: eating dinner together every night keeps the doors of communication open. Sitting across the table is where and when you can find out more about your children’s likes, dislikes, and daily life. The “Recipe for Life” family project, as testified through parents of those attending the program, helped their family reap the benefits of eating and preparing meals together that will last long after their meal ends.