Author: Gary Druin
Planning Unit: Ohio County CES
Major Program: Family and Consumer Science
Plan of Work: Healthy & Safe Food Prep Methods; Farm-to-table; Farmer's Market; SNAP; Gardening; Food Dollars
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
In response to the need to get nutrition and food safety information out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio County 4-H Youth Development agent and program assistant teamed up to provide nutrition information through the community 4-H Chef Club. Working with 4-H youth in the kitchen is a great way to develop nutrition self-confidence and develop proficiencies in reading, following directions, and math while teaching life skills about nutrition, hand washing, and food safety in the uncertain conditions of the current Covid-19 pandemic. The 4-H Chef Club blended all these components into 2 fun two-hour 4-H club meetings for Ohio County Youth. Thirty-one youth participated in hands-on nutrition and food safety activities to learn food preparation and measuring skills, kitchen safety and the importance of nutritious foods in their diet. Special emphasis was placed on proper handwashing, proper washing and preparation of fruits and vegetables. The youth received specific training proper washing of foods and on knife safety when cutting fruits and vegetables. End of session surveys revealed, 100% of the youth reported they learned about the importance of washing hands before handling food, washing fruits and vegetables before consumption, keeping raw foods separate from cooked foods, and proper food cutting techniques. In a follow-up survey, 80% of the youth reported sharing and implementing their skills with family members. All of the youth reported they had made the two of the healthy snacks with their family and planned to make more healthy snacks at home with their families. When asked what was the most important concept they learned from the sessions, 60% of the youth indicated that “learning how to properly wash and prepare fruits, vegetables and other foods” as the most beneficial skill learned. All participants received FCS publications for home use: “It’s a Wash” FN-SSB.900; “How to slice and Dice” FN-SSB.902C; and “How to hold a knife” FN-SSB.902A.
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