Author: Rachel Wright
Planning Unit: Rockcastle County CES
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, fruit and vegetable consumption among American youth is low; just 9% of students meet the fruit recommendation, and only 2% meet the vegetable recommendations.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Assistant in Rockcastle County, Kentucky provided a 6 week program at the Rockcastle County Middle School using the Teen Cuisine curriculum with 8th grade students. 22 students participated in the program. Each week students participated in making a recipe that incorporated foods from all five food groups. The goal was to increase exposure and consumption of a healthy variety of food.
At the post evaluation, 86% of students improved their abilities to choose foods according to Federal Dietary Recommendations. At least half of the students showed improvement on fruit and vegetable consumption.