A dietitian from the local Health Department teaches participants how to eat healthily using the MyPlate model, which helps them develop a personalized food plan.

Resourceful Communities’ Food & Farm expert engages young people in discussions about where their food comes from, how to eat in a way that supports the local economy (such as farmers’ markets), and how food affects the environment.

Tiffany Purdie, Family Nurse Practitioner and T.H.I.N.K’s Program Coordinator, shows participants how to navigate the grocery store, shop for healthy food on a budget (emphasis on price per ounce and buying things in bulk), and interpret nutrition facts labels. At the end of the tour, each person is given a $10 gift card and challenged to buy groceries based on MyPlate.

A financial advisor from a local credit union bank teaches youths about how to make informed money decisions. Points of discussion include the dangers of having debts, the benefits of opening a savings account, and using credit cards.

A 4-H Program Coordinator teaches youth how to cook, covering basics such as knife and sanitation skills. Because of the rich content, this workshop is divided into two parts. Participants have an opportunity to make their own dishes such as yogurt parfaits, chicken stir fry, omelets and waffles.

As a fun way to tie everything together, youths are divided into teams and have 30 mins to make a healthy meal out of the ingredients they are given at the start of the event. The competition is judged by local chefs, who are experts in their field. The winner receives a trophy and all participants receive gift bags containing cooking utensils.