Foster care is a safe place that provides a child and their birth family an opportunity to resolve any conflicts or disruptions and learn healthy skills so the children can return to a safe environment. Many of these children have experienced abuse, neglect, or other family challenges and, are removed from their home by the court system due to their safety concerns. According to childrensrights.org, on any given day, nearly 424,000 children are in the United States foster care system. In 2019, over 672,000 children spent time in the United States foster care. A child spends an average of a year and a half with 5% of the children languished there for five or more years. The average age for a child to enter foster care is eight years old. Most children in foster care have a family setting, but 10% live in institutions or group homes. In 2019, more than 20,000 children age out of foster care without permanent families. According to childrensrights.org research has shown that children leaving foster care without being linked to a forever family have an increase likelihood of homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration as adults, compared to children the same age with permanent families. The average length of stay for a child in the foster care system across the United States is 21.9 months. Kentucky has an average of a little less than 20 months in foster care. 

In Montgomery County, Kentucky there are local foster care services to help support all children. In 1981, Gateway Children Services began providing services to children and families. Over the last five years, Kentucky State University SNAP-Education Program has provided annual cooking camps with the children at Gateway Children Services. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of things have been canceled including any in-person connection. However, the importance of reaching out to the children is very important. Each day every person in all age groups has choices to make. Some of the choices include what they will eat and how to prepare it, to get the most nutritious meal available. The list of daily has an impact on our mind and body now and for the future. 

Early in 2021, Montgomery County SNAP-Education Program Assistant reached out to Gateway Children Services about doing virtual programming for the children instead of in-person. The SNAP-Education Program Assistant arranged to have two different groups and times and to do it over a two-week process. The SNAP-Education Program Assistant made programming booklets for each student to have during the programming for the children to follow along or referred back to. The SNAP-Ed Assistant would start the programming by connecting with the children before the daily lessons started. It’s a way to show them someone in the community cared about them. On the first day with the two groups, the SNAP-Ed Assistant would educate the children grades 6^th -12^th with meal planning, kitchen terms, and My Plate recommendations on their age group. The children were given an assignment of making their own daily menu and calculating the calorie intake, sugar, sodium, and fat within their menu. The second day with the two groups focused on reading labels, food safety, table manners, table setting, budgeting, and review their meal from the previous week. These lessons are key life skills use to stay healthy. The students were engaged by the SNAP-Ed Assistant asking questions about the lesson as the programming was being delivered. All the lessons were delivered within two weeks per group. The children had a 62% improving their ability to choose foods according to FDA or gain knowledge. The children had 62% using food safety handling practices more often or gain knowledge. The children had 92% improvement with physical activity practices or gain knowledge and 80% of the children improved their ability to prepare simple, nutritious, affordable food or gain knowledge. Gateway Children Services and Montgomery County SNAP- Education Program Assistant are planning to continue virtual programming each quarter to help make an impact on more children within the Kentucky foster care system.