Cooking It Up with Military Teens
Loading...
Date
2018-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ohio State University. Office of Outreach and Engagement
Abstract
The Cooking Matters program is a special program offered by SNAP-Ed in Ohio. Cooking Matters strives to help families, adults and teens broaden their nutrition, food shopping and kitchen skills by hands-on learning. The Greene County SNAP-Ed team partnered with 4-H to offer this program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Prairie Youth Center for their teen summer camp. The Greene County SNAP-Ed team was able to offer two, five-week sessions of the Cooking Matters program at WPAFB. The Cooking Matters program was open to all 4-H teens at the WPAFB Prairies Youth Center. Between the two sessions, there were a total of 25 participants. The program meets the teens where they are to help build their basic cooking skills. During the five weeks, the teens build on the skills they have learned and create healthy meals using healthy ingredients.
Description
The Cooking Matters program is a special program offered by SNAP-Ed in Ohio. Cooking Matters strives to help families, adults and teens broaden their nutrition, food shopping and kitchen skills by hands-on learning. The Greene County SNAP-Ed team partnered with 4-H to offer this program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Prairie Youth Center for their teen summer camp. The Greene County SNAP-Ed team was able to offer two, five-week sessions of the Cooking Matters program at WPAFB. The lessons took place at the WPAFB Chapel located directly across the street from the Youth Center. The Chapel boasts a large meeting room and kitchen which were perfect for all the activities that Cooking Matters entails. The Cooking Matters program was open to all 4-H teens at the WPAFB Prairies Youth Center. Between the two sessions there were a total of 25 participants. The program meets the teens where they are to help build their basic cooking skills. During the five weeks, the teens build on the skills they have learned and create healthy meals using healthy ingredients. The teens are expected to attend as many lessons as possible to graduate. Each week, they are also sent home with challenges to get their family involved. At the end of the series, they are given prizes for graduating and attending each week. The incentives of portion-sized lunch boxes and spatulas are a reminder at home of what they learned during Cooking Matters. This program has been a collaborative effort between many Extension and non-Extension entities. Within Extension, the Greene and Montgomery County offices have worked together for many years to provide activities for the Prairie Youth Center's summer camps. The Cooking Matters program is special because it allows hands-on learning in the kitchen. The teens not only learn basic cooking skills, but also nutritional information that allows them to make healthy decisions. With funding from the United Service Organizations (USO) and the 4-H Military Partnership Grant, each teen was able to prepare a full meal during the lesson time and a healthy snack to share at home. Since only half the participants live on base, we are hoping to provide this program again next year. The teens at the Prairie Youth Center are geographically dispersed through our region, with at least five counties represented. The partnership is hoped to continue next year if the funding is able to be secured again. We will be hosting one, six-week session at the Extension office so the teens have the ability to learn to cook in ovens. This program adheres with the 4-H mission mandate for healthy living; and with Greene and Montgomery counties having the highest population of military families in Ohio, it is important to teach healthy living to the youth. We hope to continue this great partnership to keep building relationships in the community.
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Natalie Storie, SNAP-Ed Program Assistant, The Ohio State University Extension, Greene County, storie.4@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Rebecca Supinger, Educator, 4-H Youth Development, The Ohio State University Extension, Greene County.
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Natalie Storie, SNAP-Ed Program Assistant, The Ohio State University Extension, Greene County, storie.4@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Rebecca Supinger, Educator, 4-H Youth Development, The Ohio State University Extension, Greene County.
Keywords
Cooking Matters, 4-H teens, military youth, SNAP-Ed
Citation
Engaged Scholars, v. 6 (2018).