Partner Spotlight: ISU Extension and Outreach

This month we are excited to share about our partnership with Iowa State University Extension & Outreach’s Kids in the Kitchen and Teen Cuisine programs.

The partnership began when YWRC team members Sy’Anne and Berenice met and spoke with Youth Nutrition Associate Educator Rebecca at a community tabling event about their fantastic program, Kids in the Kitchen. The program is for students in grades K-5 and partners with schools and organizations who serve youth populations with reduced lunch rates and who are in families at or below the poverty guidelines.

Rebecca shared how the initiative is a hands-on experience where youth learn about nutrition and cooking education. It was clear this collaboration aligned with the mission and vision of the YWRC in empowering our participants to be self-confident in their cooking skills and providing them the opportunity to have access to exciting partnerships so they can grow to their full potential.

Our partnership began with Sy’Anne leading our 5th grade After School Group. All 12 participants were able to engage as many of our students receive free/reduced lunch at their school. The program ran for six weeks and was a fun way to get youth in the kitchen and introduce them to the different food groups (My Plate). Kids in the Kitchen touches on many great topics:

• Following recipes
• The importance of each food group
• Recognizing the specific food in each food group
• Alternatives/substitutions

Participants learned healthy food choices, food safety, food groups, and independence in the kitchen! The 5th graders loved all the recipes Rebecca brought and each week they excitedly shared how they’d replicate the recipe to share it with their families.

Sy’Anne enjoyed the partnership as she witnessed first-hand how ecstatic the participants were about their meal creations and listened to how they would add or substitute ingredients to the recipes. She also heard them build autonomy with their choices and trying new things without “yucking anyone’s yum” was a sight to see.

The participants’ respect for one another showcased the growth in aligning with their community agreements. This partnership reinforced the meaning of community for the participants and it became a frequently used word/concept even after six weeks of programming concluded. For completing the 6-week program, the students enjoyed creating their recipe book!

After successfully collaborating with our 5th graders, we discussed the opportunity to expand their program for our middle school (6th-8th) After-School Groups. Rebecca then contacted us about piloting their ‘Teen Cuisine’ program tailored for middle school youth. The pilot program begins today with our 7th grade After-School Group! Continuing this partnership is vital to the Empowerment Team as we expand this exciting collaboration to serve our older youth who can benefit by building self-efficiency in the kitchen through learning about reading labels and understanding percentages, serving etiquette, food, and kitchen safety. This partnership will educate our youth and build resiliency by learning about kitchen safety, exploring new recipes, and meal planning.

Seeing first-hand the success of the partnership this spring, we expect our 7th graders to develop their knowledge in:

• Comfortability with knife skills
• Measuring ingredients
• Reading and understanding recipes
• Being positive about the physical activity with cooking
• Nutrition knowledge
  • Grains
  • Dairy
  • Protein
  • Fruits and veggies

We were amazed by the end of our first Kids in the Kitchen program. Our participants were knowledgeable and engaged in helping hand out snacks and checking in with their facilitator to help in the kitchen with the small meal for the day. In their conversations, they would encourage each other to try new foods, read the snack labels, and quiz each other about what they learned.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with ISU Extension and Outreach!