When COVID-19 prevented families of children 6-8 years of age from coming to the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Office for the yearly Mommy & Me…in the Garden and Kitchen Program, plan B had to be put into place.   Ronda Rex, Agent for Family & Consumer Sciences Education, immediately put that plan into action by learning everything she could about Zoom virtual learning.  After conducting other Zoom meetings, trainings, classes and TV segments, cooking in front of a computer camera began.  The scheduled in classroom cooking program for April through July was conducted from Ronda’s and the families’ individual kitchens via the Zoom platform.  Ronda teaches as she has always done with her physical classes.  She has very carefully planned out topics for each class focusing on:   Gardening/Food Access, Using What You Have in the Pantry, Kitchen Safety, Basic Cooking Tools/Food Prep., and Easy, Fun Recipes for Kids and the Entire Family.  The class made Bread in a Bag from the USDA and Chocolate Snack Cake from the Nutrition Education Program.  All topics are taught using the University of Kentucky Family & Consumer Sciences curricula and publications and the Department of Animal and Food Science’s Poultry Science lesson (How to make an Omelet).  Other curricula and publications were utilized such as:  Measuring Basics, Basic Knife Skills/Safety), “Cook Together, Eat Together”, Food Preparation and Oregon’s Food Hero recipes (My Persona Pizza, English Muffin Pizza and Fruit Pizza).  The Victory Garden Campaign (VGC) was incorporated into the program after Agent training.  The VGC encourages individuals and families to garden at home to supplement food supply and learn, practice and adopt new skills as a family.   

 Terri Turner, Horticulture Technician, showed the families how to start a garden by using either containers or a raised bed garden.  She “Zoomed” in from the Campbell County Extension gardening room.

This new way of learning hands-on gardening and cooking skills has brought about new volunteer leadership as well.  Julie Geiman, Mommy & Me graduate and Master Gardner Volunteer, has stepped up to the plate to help teach gardening skills to the class.  She and her children, Monica, Melissa and Jason (all Mommy & Me graduates) participant to help the families with cooking/baking as well.  Monica assisted her mother, Julie, and talk part of the gardening skills for June.   Monica is now a teenager.   

COVID-19 forced this program to go virtual; however, by taking doing so has brought about positive changes:

• Better time management for both families, Extension staff and volunteers.  
• Time saved for all families:  No travel time and the opportunity to multi-task for balancing work and family.    
• Time saved for Extension staff and volunteers:  (Agent and volunteers do not physical set up for cooking class (cooking stations, equipment/food prep., gardening supplies, etc.).  Mommy & Me is a night class so virtual class frees time up for Extension staff and volunteer to do work for other classes and again balance work and family.
• Money saved for the Campbell County Extension.  Extension staff, volunteers and families utilized what they had in their kitchens and used the recipes, snacks food for their actual meals.
• Quality time spent together as families during a difficult time and a comfortable learning environment.  
• Technology learned by families (together learning).  Bonnie, grandmother, learned Zoom and cooked/baked with her grandchildren (she has attended Mommy & Me with 4 of her grandchildren), 2 in a physical setting and 2 via Zoom. 

The budget for this program for 8 families (8 parents/12 children) for a normal in classroom learning is approximately $2,755.00.   The budget for the on-line program is zero due to Ronda and the families using the tools and food in their own kitchens for actual meals/snacks for their families.  Ronda is and will continue to work very hard to keep the virtual class going for next year and adopt this new way of learning for the future.  

Marketing is key and helping families adapt to the change in Extension programming.   It is still a free program to Campbell County residents and offering it on-line is a win-win for both the families and for the Campbell County Extension Service.  

Positive Feedback from families: 

Mommy & Me participant/grandmother, Bonnie, sent Ronda a “Thank You” expressing her appreciation for taking the Mommy & Me Program to Zoom.   Another participant/mother, Bridget, sent Ronda an e-mail:  “That was great.  Austin is so picky, which is why we chose to do the class.   We thought if he learned how to cook for himself, then he would start liking more things. He asked what an omelet was during the video. Now he knows what it is and how to make 1 or shall I say 2.  Thanks so much for making the extra effort to do virtually.  It's worked out almost better so his younger brother, who loves to cook, can participate.”