2020 has been met with many challenges, none of which have been welcomed or easy. As COVID restrictions determined how nutrition classes were executed within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the SNAP-Ed assistant in the Madison County Cooperative Extension Service was unsure about delivering quality lessons through social media. However, a retired Family Resource Center Director reached out to the SNAP-Ed assistant asking for nutrition and cooking resources for a group of six middle school girls. She had planned to offer cooking, nutrition, and nature lessons with the six girls over a one-week span. The SNAP-Ed assistant offered to deliver the nutrition component via a social media platform, asking permission to practice on the teens. Graciously the director agreed, and planning began.

The former director and SNAP-Ed assistant decided the SNAP-Ed assistant would use the Teen Cuisine curriculum, which would be taught over one week in 1 ½ hour classes. The assistant created goodie bags for each teen, which contained measuring and mixing equipment. The assistant and the director chose recipes that the teens could cook alone, each afternoon, preparing their own lunch each day. The teens showed an 83% improvement in their ability to choose foods according to Federal Dietary Recommendations, an 83% improvement in physical activity practices along with a 50% improvement in safe food handling practices and kitchen skills. All six girls seem to really enjoy cooking together and learned a lot from each other all while the SNAP-Ed assistants gain confidence in her abilities to deliver quality nutrition education via virtual outreach.