With many individuals with health concerns, many Americans want to learn to cook and eat healthier. Offering cooking classes monthly allows participants to practice and learn how easy cooking in the kitchen can be. Our target audience is adults that have little to no cooking experience. We do have some participants that come to learn how to cook for one or two people. We address basic cooking skills and easy recipes that they can adapt at home. Marketing efforts included monthly newsletters, radio announcements, Facebook post, county webpages and flyers.

Healthy Cooking participants do hands on cooking, get to meet and talk to others about cooking, learn about new recipes and taste the recipes along with a lesson on the topic. They go in a classroom kitchen setting and work with partners allowing teachable moments between the participants. Each class has a teaching part at the beginning of the class to talk about recipes along with an educational presentation. Utilizing new Plate it Up recipes and revisiting recipes from the past opens up discussion about farmer’s market and what is in season. When it comes to winter time we talk about easy slow cooker meals along with hearty recipes that are not only healthy but taste good. Other classes that were taught were on cooking with honey, spring cooking, summer cooking, air fryer, electric pressure cooker, exotic meats, cast iron cooking, and holiday foods. We have collaborated with different organizations including the SNAP program to help with food cost and material.

Offering 13 cooking classes this year ranging from 20-30 in each class, a total of 325 people participated this year. In the past few years there has been an increase in participation. The classes were offered in the daytime and night time. Evaluations have been conducted by surveys and testimonials, 95% said they would make the recipes at home, 75% of the participants have tried the previous recipes at home. Participants are trying recipes with ingredients that they do not generally use in a recipe and they end up liking it. One participant said that they are now eating healthier and making better choices at the grocery store because of our cooking classes. She said that her husband’s diabetes has gotten much better and her health has improved due to better eating. This person has attended the cooking classes now for 9 years. A retired doctor started attending classes two years ago due to his sick wife at home. He needed to learn to cook and he had mastered cooking skills by attending our healthy cooking classes. He uses the recipes from the classes and calls if he needs other recipes or basic cooking help. He tells people that the Extension Service has been a life saver for him. We have had another participant return after a few years saying that the information she learned from the classes taught her how to cook and eat healthy. Her and her husband have lost significant weight and are off some medications. They also have learned how to grocery shop and be a better consumer when buying groceries. 95% of the participants learned about new kitchen equipment and came to a conclusion if they needed to purchase the item for home. Half of the participants were either scared to use the equipment or had bought it and did not know how to use it. After these classes all participants had determined that they would open their box and use it. They also indicated that they were not afraid to try the equipment at home. Participation continues to increase by marketing efforts through monthly newsletters, flyers, radio announcements and weekly shows.

The classes are planned again for this year and expect to have more individuals participate. This year the nutrition education program calendar will be implemented. The classes are called “Cooking through the Calendar with Plate It Up and will be offered monthly. Each month an evaluation will be conducted to see if the participants are preparing the foods at home and what they have learned and accomplished.