LOW-INCOME FAMILIES BENEFIT FROM COOKING PROGRAMS

A new study shows that a six-week cooking, shopping and nutrition course for low-income families has a powerful and sustained effect. Families report shopping smarter, eating healthier, and preparing more meals at home even six months after completing the course. What's more, they no longer regularly worry that their food might run out each month. The study found families have more confidence in the kitchen; are eating healthier, putting them at lower risk for diet-related diseases; and are more confident that they'll be able to afford enough food. Before taking the course, families sometimes worried that food might run out each month. Six months later, participants reported they rarely worry. Seventeen percent said they were more confident in stretching food dollars due to strategies they learned, like planning meals, shopping with a list and comparing unit prices.

Source: PR Newswire, 3/29/16, Cooking Skills