Over the past twenty years, the frequency of family dinners has significantly declined even though research has shown that children who share family dinners three or more times per week are less likely to be overweight and more likely to perform better academically, eat healthier foods, and have better relationships with their parents. Thus, educating students how to choose, prepare, and cook healthy foods is a priority for the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (NEP) and the 4-H Youth Development Program (YDP) in Sutter and Yuba Counties. Food preparation skills are often overlooked, but they are important for children to learn in order to maintain good health.
In FFY17, UC CalFresh NEP partnered with the Sutter-Yuba 4-H to submit a proposal to implement a Teens-as-Teachers (TAT) program. The TAT model provides extended learning opportunities and allows teens to learn, lead, and serve their community. The proposal was approved and awarded to implement the program in three schools within two counties. Five teens traveled to UC ANR (Davis) for a Statewide TAT Training. In addition, seven teens participated in a full-day training hosted locally by the UC CalFresh NEP and Sutter-Yuba 4-H. These trainings aimed to educate teens on the basic skills of food preparation, selection, safety, and science, as well as to prepare them to work with elementary school students. During the trainings, teens learned culinary techniques, behavior guidance strategies, and how to prepare each recipe featured in the Cooking Academy: Cooking 101 curriculum. Chef Kuulei Moreno, Culinary Arts Instructor of Wheatland Union High School and winner of a Food Network cooking competition attended both of the trainings as a special guest and provided inspiration and helpful tips for navigating in the kitchen. Each Cooking Academy consisted of seven weeks of cooking and food safety instruction where youth (ages 6-11) had opportunities to learn basic nutrition information, try new foods, and learn how to safely prepare meals using recipes that incorporated foods grown in the school's edible garden.
Through hands-on food activities, youth learned about different taste combinations, their food preferences and the many food choices available to them. They also tried new foods, built their cooking confidence, and increased their overall interest in cooking. As a result of participating in the program, youth willingness to try new foods increased. When asked how often they tried new foods prior to participating in the program, 8.3% of youth said always, 50% said sometimes, and 29.2% said once in a while. After participating in the program, 26.3% of youth said they always try new foods, 21.1% said often, 36.8% said sometimes, and 29.2% said once in a while. Prior to participating in the program 46% of youth also considered themselves to be extremely good cooks and after participating in the program, this increased to 74%, yielding a difference of +28%. In addition, prior to participating in the program, 42% of youth reported that they were able to chop vegetables extremely well with a knife, which increased to 90% after participating in the program. Additionally, 37.5% of youth reported that they were able to grate cheese extremely well prior to participating in the program and this increased to 89.5%, yielding a difference of +52 as a result of program participation.
Teens who participated as TAT in this program increased their overall self-confidence, ability to act as mentors and ability to speak before a group of individuals. As a result of participating in the program, 66.7% of TAT strongly agreed and 33.3% agreed that they learned what makes up a balanced diet and which foods they should eat each day. Additionally, 66.7% of TAT strongly agreed and 33.3% agreed that they learned why it is important to eat a healthy diet and how to make healthy food choices. 66.7% of TAT also reported that they eat more fruits and vegetables, drink less soda, and consume more water as a result of participating in the program. All teens that participated in the program as TAT either strongly agreed (20%) or agreed (80%) that their families have purchased healthier food because of participating in the program.
Some of the most important skills that TAT reported learning as a result of participating in the program included:
• Cooking, following rules and directions.
• Being patient with younger students and getting their attention.
• Learning how to handle younger kids.
TAT also shared what they thought was the best part of participating as a teen teacher or mentor in the program and some of their responses included:
• Teaching little kids to cook.
• Spending time with younger students and teaching them ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• Seeing the kids every Thursday and then sometimes seeing them in the community.
Clientele Testimonial
"My son Damien is enrolled in the cooking program. He had a wonderful time in this program. It has inspired him to taste new foods and take an interest in cooking. He has come home from the program and explained to me about the food he has made, food preparation and all about cooking! Because of this program, he asked if he could cook our Thanksgiving dinner".
-Heather Panteloglow
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