Success StoryCook Together, Eat Together



Cook Together, Eat Together

Author: Janet Mullins

Planning Unit: Dietetics and Human Nutrition

Major Program: Cook Together, Eat Together

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

Making half your plate fruits and vegetables is one of the most potent ways Americans can eat a healthier diet. However, making this dietary change in the current food environment is challenging, especially in regard to vegetable consumption. In 2012, a proposal for a social marketing project to promote healthy, home cooked meals was developed for limited resource families with young children. Over the next five years, two pilot test waves were conducted. Iterative monitoring, evaluation, and revision were implemented. Program evaluations demonstrate that participants increase fruit and vegetable intake by 1 cup per day, or 20% of the recommended intake. In 2020, a peer-reviewed academic paper was published in a special food security issue of Translational Behavioral Medicine. In 2021, a cookbook to accompany the Extension program Cook Together, Eat Together was published. The program is now available throughout Kentucky and to other states.






Stories by Janet Mullins


Fresh Kentucky Produce for Farms to Food Banks

Fresh Kentucky Produce for Farms to Food Banks

about 5 years ago by Janet Mullins

An annual study by Feeding America, reports that one in six Kentuckians – including one in five chil... Read More


Healthy Eating and Active Living Reduces Rural Obesity

Healthy Eating and Active Living Reduces Rural Obesity

about 5 years ago by Janet Mullins

Rural communities face greater barriers to healthy eating and being physically active, which contrib... Read More


Stories by Dietetics and Human Nutrition


Fresh Kentucky Produce for Farms to Food Banks

Fresh Kentucky Produce for Farms to Food Banks

about 5 years ago by Janet Mullins

An annual study by Feeding America, reports that one in six Kentuckians – including one in five chil... Read More


Healthy Eating and Active Living Reduces Rural Obesity

Healthy Eating and Active Living Reduces Rural Obesity

about 5 years ago by Janet Mullins

Rural communities face greater barriers to healthy eating and being physically active, which contrib... Read More