On the Road Mobile Cooking School was developed through a partnership with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County United Way Healthy Living Alliance (HLA). A 2011 report by the Texas Health Institute reported 70 percent of adults in Montgomery County were obese or overweight. 85 percent of these reported overweight or obese adults have an annual income of $25,000 per year or less.
In 2013, Montgomery County hosted a Dinner Tonight Cooking School and a Healthy Holiday Cooking School. A representative from United Way Healthy Living Alliance approached the county extension agent with a proposal to develop a similar cooking school, but rely heavily on a hands-on activity approach, with little or no class fees. The new program also needed to be easily accessible to clientele with low-income, hard-to-reach and transportation-challenged areas.
The United Way Health and Wellness Council expanded the project grant. Through expanded project this instructor’s guide was developed help individuals withing to conduct similar programs.
Hosting a mobile cooking school is quite labor intensive and involves the following:
- recruiting host sites
- planning lessons and menus for your particular group
- purchasing food and supplies for a large group
- hauling equipment to a site
- setting up cooking stations
- cleaning and repacking equipment
This type of program is not nearly as easy as a pick-up-and-go, quick food demonstration. But the rewards are great. The potential long-term impact on behavior change is immense and worth the effort. Click to read more about what makes this program unique.