A Nutrition Education Intervention on Achieving Healthy Weights Among Adolescents for Nutrition Educators for Low-Income Families

uses the Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate as the foundation for basic nutrition. Description of Program Intervention: The program includes experiential skill acquisition through hands-on cooking classes, which includes meal preparation, grocery shopping, food budgeting, and nutrition. Participants receive low-cost recipes and free groceries after each class to replicate the recipes at home. Evaluation: Post program evaluation results at the end of the sixweek program indicated increased skills and confidence in participant's ability to plan and prepare healthy meals. A survey of 150 participants indicated improvement in cooking skills, increase in vegetable and fruit consumption, increase in whole grains, lean meat, chicken or fish consumption, and increase in the number of people who reported making meals that include at least 3 food groups. Conclusions and Implications: Experiential cooking programs were an effective method of empowering low-income families with knowledge and skills to prepare healthy and affordable meals. Funding: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education Additional Funding: Share Our Strength