Nutrition at Rookie Cooking Camp in Rowan County

                        Childhood obesity in the United States is at an all-time-high. It has more than tripled since the 1970’s; about 13.7 million children and adolescents have been affected according to cdc.gov. As part of helping reduce childhood obesity, Rowan County SNAP-ED Program hosted a Rookie Cooking Camp at the Rowan County Health Center. 

This Cooking Campeducated youth about healthy food choices, basic cooking skills, meal etiquette, knife skills, and meal planning. The camp consisted of 7 students, some with little or no cooking skills. The camp was a total of 3 days. 

Rookie Cooking Camp had one particular student who was very picky when it came to any healthy foods. At first, he was very reluctant to try any of the food he had made, but after some encouragement, he enjoyed every recipe. He made sure to get the recipe so he could take it home and cook it for his family to try. Each day, he came back and was very eager to ask what we were making and how much he looked forward to it all night. 

On the last day, we set a table with nice dinnerware and water goblets for the parents because the students were going to fix lunch for their families to show off their new cooking skills. As the parents were eating, several mentioned they had heard what was on the menu and weren’t really looking forward to trying the recipe. Some even said they thought they were going to have to stop and get something else to eat afterwards. However, after giving the healthy meal a try, they said “It was a great recipe, and would be making it at home.” The very next day, a student tagged Rookie Cooking Camp in a post on Facebook. The student had decided to cook one of the camp recipes for her whole family. She even had her own healthy twist on it, which her family really enjoyed.