Cooking camp provides hands-on nutrition education opportunity

Making healthy food choices requires far more than nutrition knowledge. Food preparation skills are essential in order to prepare healthful, palatable meals that meet dietary recommendations for children and for young adults. Children who cook are more likely to taste the foods they've prepared than those who are simply served meals. College-age individuals are likely to try new foods but they often lack the basic skills to plan menus, purchase appropriate ingredients and balance meals. They many want to cook but don't know how, or don't think they have the time. Children participated in a five day culinary program which covered eight different regions, each with a particularly distinctive culinary style and heritage. A nutritionist provided nutrition education and lab support and a kinesiology instructor planned games and activities that engaged the participants in outdoor physical activities for an hour each day. A validated evaluation tool, Eating Right is Fun: Food and Me for assessment indicated a positive change in knowledge and behavior of participants. Cooking Campand similar programs present unique opportunities for professional chefs to engage people of all ages in cooking activities that build confidence in home food preparation.