CookingMatters_2018_Protected

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Cooking Matters, 2018

Cooking matters was a five-week program in partnership with Smirna Misionera. Families from Waterbury were able

to learn about nutrition in a fun way. New recipes were introduced every week and included, turkey tacos, corn flake

chicken, salmon, and Chinese rice and veggies. Expectation of Cooking Matters

At the start of the program, 26 people attended, half were adults and half

were children. Most adults (77%) were female and half were children 60%

(46%). Most of the participants that attended the program were parent- 35%
child pairs. There were a few people who came with their spouse or 20%

grandparent. Twenty of the 26 participants expressed expectations of the

program: two thirds (60%) hoped to learn ways to eat healthier, a third Eat health Learn Spend time
(35%) were looking forward to learning to cook or learn new recipes, and cook/recipes with family
20% attended the program to spend more time with their family.

Participants were asked about foods they commonly eat (at least twice a n=20, multiple answers possible
week). The figure below provides an overview of the foods that were eaten by the majority of participants at least
twice a week.

Foods eaten at least twice a week by most participants

Rice Bread Chicken, potatoes, pasta Fresh fruits Fresh vegetables Beef
96% 85% 81% 77% 58% 54%

When asked, participants were most likely to indicate that the cooking at home was done by mothers (58%),

sometimes dads pitched in (27%) and sometimes mom cooked with someone else such as a grandparent (12%). In

Who usually does the cooking at home? very few cases (4%) there was someone else doing the cooking.
12% 4% mom only
None (0%) of the participants indicated that fathers did all the
cooking.
dad only

mom & dad At the end of each week’s class, the instructor handed out bags for
27% 58% mom & other families with recipe instructions to try at home. Sixty-nine percent

0% other (69%) of the 13 participants who attended the last class said that

n=26 they had indeed tried the recipes out at home at least once. The
cooking program also resulted in 69% of the participants trying new

foods. Two thirds (62%) of the participants indicated that as a result of the program they cooked more at home.

Participants were asked about their favorite recipe that they learned. Most participants mentioned tacos, but many

also enjoyed the Chinese rice with vegetables and the salmon. Overall, people seemed happy with the cooking

program. The program met their expectations (92%) and helped them eat healthier (100%). They also were pleased

with the instructor’s knowledge. The majority agreed that the instructor knew a lot about nutrition and food.

At the end of the program, participants received a cookbook, a $10 ShopRite gift card, and a certificate of
completion, hoping that people continue to cook healthy and tasty foods.

Satisfaction with the program, (strongly) agrees with the statement…

The program helped me eat healthier 100%
92%
The cooking program met my expectations 92%
The instructor knew a lot about food and nutrition

The lessons on nutrition were eye opening 67%
The food made represents my culture's food
25%

n=13

In January 2019, we organized a reunion for the Since attending the Cooking Matters class…
Cooking Matters class, about a dozen people attended.
Nine (9) people completed a survey to evaluate the 22% 22%
long-term impact of the cooking class. Two of the
attendees (22%) agrees that the cooking class was eye 89%
opening and the remaining 78% strongly agrees. The 67% 67%
attendees made the recipes they learned at least once
and most (78%) made them twice or more. We asked 11% 11% 11%
how much they agreed with statements indicating a
change in their dietary habits. These data show that I cook more at I buy different my family preparres
most participants have been cooking more at home, home
have been buying different ingredients have been ingredients and more dinners
cooking different foods, and that families have been
spending more time together cooking family meals. cook different foods together

(strongly) disagree agree strongly agree

n=9

CREATED SEPTEMBER, 2018 © 2019
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