Activities and Resources to Improve Nutrition

Cooking

California has developed a comprehensive cooking program in 4-H.  Our Cooking Project Sheet can help leaders determine skill-appropriate activities and build mastery.  There are a variety of resources and approaches to teaching 4-Hers to cook. This presentation was given at the 2018 Western Region Leaders Forum to excite and inspire Project Leaders to get kids in the kitchen.  After-school Cooking Academy programming partners with SNAP-Ed to provide hands-on cooking skills using teens-as-teachers. The Cooking Academy Educator Guide is used to deliver this program.  Our statewide  Cooking Challenge, held at the state fair, provides a fun and safe competition to help children of all ages get in the kitchen!

Educational Materials

For a one-time activity, learn about your individual taste and how to use that knowledge to make healthy food choices by playing this MyTaste Activity at your next meeting!

Ready for an entire project on nutrition? Try one of our recommended curriculum:

• EatFit
• Nutrition to Grow On
• Healthalicious Cooking
• Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness
• Junior Master Gardener: Learn, Grow, Eat, and Go! 
• Other curriculum on UC 4-H Healthy Living

Or if you have Project Leaders who are wanting to add to their project. Our Foods and Nutrition or Beginning Food Preservation Project Sheets will provide new ideas and ways to link to citizenship or science. 

Reducing Sugar Sweetened Beverages

Water Activity

The purpose of this activity is to engage participants in a discussion about why they drink water and why water is important to their health.

Materials Needed: "I Drink Water Because..." Poster and poster title, water drop sticky notes or other sticky notes, and pens

 Directions:

1. To start, place the poster on a board or wall that is visible to everyone.
2. Explain that the activity is to think about the importance of being properly hydrated and the importance of water in their daily life.
3. Ask the participants to finish the sentence "I drink water because..."
4. Pass around the water drop sticky notes and pens so each individual can write their own response and place it on the poster.
5. Encourage participants to take a picture of their sticky note response and #4HWaterwed to any social media site.

Engage participants in exploring how much sugar is in different food items!Sugar Shocker Activity

• Sugar_Shockers_Activity_Guide
• Top foods to swap to reduce sugar

Food at Camp

Camp can provide its own challenges, so we have a few resources to help you improve the nutrition and eating environment: 

• Handout: Camp Table Topics
• Handout: Blank 4-H Taste Test Survey
• Handout: Camp Mealtime Scenarios

Making Mealtimes Matter. Are you making camp mealtimes count? Mealtimes play an important role in developing social skills and healthy habits. In this workshop, participants will discover brand new ways to integrate camp programming into breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants will also think together to address some of the common challenges in making mealtimes count!