Volume 18, Number 1, Fall 2007

Vanderbilt Students Learn Cooking at MSU Extension Kitchen

Beth Prykucki

Seventh- through twelfth-grade students at Vanderbilt Area School had the opportunity to take a cooking class in the new demonstration kitchen at the Otsego County MSU Extension office.

“This is an awesome partnership with Vanderbilt Area School and MSU Extension,” said Jeffrey Liedel, Vanderbilt superintendent. “Our students enjoyed learning about nutrition and the opportunity for hands-on cooking.”

Students learned about nutrition, food safety and making an omelet. They also made burritos, fruit smoothies and salsa during the cooking classes, which were offered jointly by Extension’s 4-H and Family Nutrition
Programs.

In an evaluation following the program, the majority of the students said that they learned something new about the United States Department of Agriculture’s updated food pyramid guidelines. More than four-fifths (82 percent) of those surveyed indicated that they will use the information as they shop for and prepare meals.