EFNEP, Try Healthy Programs Promote Health with Cooking Fun

Kaden and Timothy Bowden cook a meal with their father, Timothy Bowden Sr. the family is learning how to cook and make healthy choices by attending programs from Vance County’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Program.

Healthy lifestyles and access to nutritious food are key weapons in the fight against the chronic diseases that disproportionally affect lower-income and minority communities. In Vance County, EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) Educator Nitasha Kearney offers delicious new courses and camps that help kids learn the fun, healthy aspects of cooking at home.

“The long-term goal of EFNEP is to get the students to be able to choose healthy foods by themselves,” said Kearney. “We teach children the importance of health and wellness, physical activity, food and nutrition, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, the importance of drinking eight cups of water per day – all the things that can help you maintain a healthy life.”

According to the division of public health of the N.C. Department of Human Health and Services, the leading cause of death in North Carolina is heart disease, followed by cancer, stroke, diabetes and hypertension. Minority groups in the state experience higher death rates associated with these conditions, according to the agency.

Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T reached more than 16,000 adults and children in 2022 through these programs, teaching them to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption and adopt healthier, more active lifestyles. EFNEP and Try Healthy servs families who receive, or are eligible for, federal food assistance.

Keesha Bowden, a Vance County mother, worked hard to provide healthy meals for her family on a limited budget. She enrolled in the Try Healthy program to learn to make healthy food choices. Her sons, Timothy Jr. and Kaden, took part in the program’s Culinary Cuisine Camp to learn how to cook foods from across the globe.

“The Try Healthy Program inspires us and teaches us different recipes to cook with our children,” Bowden said. “At home, the boys help cook family dinners on Fridays. I’m just thankful that we did come across this program.”

“Kaden and Timothy were new to my International Culinary Cuisine Camp,” Kearney said. “They love to cook, but they didn’t know how to make those healthy choices. They didn’t know how to cook by themselves at home.

“At Culinary Cuisine Camp, we made turkey curry soup and quesadillas, and they were able to learn some exciting things to do as a physical activity from each country we discussed. That made them more excited to learn and to do,” she said.

Timothy Bowden Sr., Kaden and Timothy’s father, called Try Healthy “very educational”.

“It’s teaching our children about skill-building and also helping with their behavior,” said Timothy Bowden Sr. “I’m thankful for it.”

“I’m very excited about the Bowden family participating,” said Kearney. “Timothy and Kaden keep coming back to my EFNEP programs, and they are utilizing the healthy tools they’ve learned.”