Introduction to evaluatingthe Cooking Clubs

RaVE is interested in assessing if the cooking clubs promote healthy eating habits, basic cooking

skills, and positive attitudes about enjoying preparing fresh food.

The goals and outcomes for the evaluation of the RaVE Cooking Clubs are on the next page. We

have also included the schedule that RaVE aims to follow to carry out an evaluation of cooking

clubs offered in 8-10 week sessions. RaVE will be collecting participant input through surveys,

individual interviews, and group discussions at two of the school sites.

For the RaVE supported sites, the goal is for the RaVE evaluator or intern to visit the cooking

club sites and administer the questionnaires on five days. When the surveys are collected by

the RaVE staff or volunteer, RaVE will analyze the results and share these with the cooking cob

kitchen leads.

For the CKNW sites that are not supported with the RaVE staff, if you are interested, you are

welcome to use the evaluation questionnaires to collect participant input and feedback. If you

are a CKNW, non-RaVE site, you could compile and review the participants’ responses. The

input could be helpful to assess how the participants are responding to the experience and

could give some ideas to make some adjustments in how the cooking sessions are offered.

RaVE Cooking Club Evaluation September 2012- March 2013

The goal is to provide participants with the regularly scheduled sessions to prepare and share healthy fresh meals, socialize with their peers, and develop healthy eating habits to enhance their well-being.

What are the desired outcomes for the 10-week after school cooking clubs and school day sessions?

Participants are expected to:• increase knowledge of new foods and ways of cooking foods• develop awareness and positive attitudes towards eating fresh food• demonstrate basic cooking skills including knife skills• develop personal skills (e.g. confidence) and communication with peers • increase positive choices of fresh vegetables and fruits when offered in place of

prepared, packaged starchy foods• influence healthy cooking and eating habits at home

What are the activities to accomplish the outcomes?

The activities to reach the outcomes are interactive sessions with cooking demonstrations and participation in fixing snacks and meals. In addition, these promising practices that have been learned from the project evaluation should also be promoted:

• Eating family style or in small groups to share the tasting experience• Taking some food home to increase interest among family members• Inviting family members, teachers, and peers to enjoy meals prepared by the

participants to promote interest in cooking fresh vegetables• Engaging the participants in suggesting meal options • Using local ingredients so participants learn about sourcing fresh, local organic produce.

What is the evaluation plan?

Using the results from the 2011-2012 (school year) evaluation, the evaluation has these components:

• point-in-time data collection, on 5 of 10 sessions, to collect quantitative questionnaire responses from the middle school and high school participants

• qualitative data collected through brief individual and small group interviews with cooking club participants

• feedback collected in individual interviews at 2-4 points-in-time with the adult kitchen leads.

• feedback collected in group discussion with the kitchen leads at the conclusion of the sessions

Evaluation ScheduleQuantitative data – collected using brief questionnaires

Week- dates to be adjusted for Fall 2012Tool to be completed this week, distributed by the Evaluator/intern

110/1

210/8

310/15

410/22

510/29

611/5

711/12

811/26

912/3

1012/10

1 Wanna be a teen chef? •2 Cooking club feedback •3 Measure, Prepare, &

Eat•

4 Mixing it up •5 Past and Present •

The plan is that the RaVE Evaluation MPH intern will bring and collect the questionnaires. But if she would be unable to come and no other substitute is available, the kitchen leads could be asked to hand out the questionnaires, collect them, and keep them until picked up by the intern.

Individual interviews

Beyond the questionnaires, the evaluator or the intern collects qualitative individual-level data from talking with the participants. These are informal exchanges initiated by the evaluation intern or by the kitchen lead, if appropriate, given the time available and the cooking tasks to be completed. The weekly questions are focused on these topics:

Weeks 1-2

Typical meals at home: What do you usually eat for dinner? Who prepares the meals? How often do you help cook at home (e.g. any nights of the week, once in awhile). Would you like to help prepare meals at home?

Weeks 3-4

Meal memories: What is your memory of a favorite meal? What or who made it special in your mind? Have you tried food that is eaten in other countries?

Weeks 5-6

Eating patterns: What change can you make in your breakfast/lunch at school?What is one thing you can change about meals you eat at home?

Weeks 7-8

New habits: What new foods have you tried that you will eat again?What cooking method did you learn that you will try again?

Weeks 9-10

What has been your favorite part about coming to the cooking club? What would you say to a friend who might be interested? What would you change to improve the cooking club?

Wanna be a teen chef?If you want to be a teen chef or if you would like to cook at home, you need to know a few terms.

What should I fix? Here is a list of cooking methods or terms, just write in something you could cook or prepare using this method.

What could I cook or prepare using this method?

Bonus ! Can you think of anything else?

Chop

Bake

Saute

Mince

Roast

What are you going to put in your vinaigrette dressing? OR What are two vegetables you could put

on pizza?

How many times have you come to the cooking club? (check all that apply)

Questionnaire #1When- Week 2, after introduction, pizza & salad

First time today Second time I came last year.

Questionnaire #1When- Week 2, after introduction, pizza & salad

Questionnaire #1When- Week 2, after introduction, pizza & salad

Questionnaire #1When- Week 2, after introduction, pizza & salad

Cooking Club Feedback!

That’s right, tell us what you think!

Please read each statement and then circle whether you agree or disagree. Thank you for helping us improve cooking club.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

1 I get to give input on what we will cook. Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

2 There is enough time to talk with friends while we cook and eat.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

3 I have a chance to ask questions to learn.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

4 We hear about different vegetables and spices and where foods come from.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

5 We get to do fun things like chop, slice, mince, and mix.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

6 I am learning skills using different kitchen tools including knives.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

7 We are learning how to cook in healthy ways, such as steaming or sautéing.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

8 I practice using math sometimes, like doubling a recipe or cutting it in half.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

9 I get to use what I learn in the cooking club to help cook family meals.

Strongly DISAGREE

Somewhat DISAGREE

Somewhat AGREE

StronglyAGREE

How many times have you come to the cooking club? (check all that apply)

First time today 2or 3 times 4 times I came last year.

Questionnaire #1When- Week 2, after introduction, pizza & salad

Measure, Prepare, & EatSelect only 3 boxes . Write a short answer to the question in the box.

OK, to leave three boxes b lank.

What is your favorite spice and why?

What should every cook do to prevent contaminating food when you fix raw meat, or fish, or poultry?

What is a good plant source of protein?

You just ate broccoli for dinner and finished a salad. What is a benefit of eating fresh, leafy green vegetables?

If you were making a recipe for 8 people instead of 4 people, you need to double it, so how much do you need?

1/3 cup chopped spinach= _________

3/8 teaspoon dried oregano= ________

Why should you look for whole grains if you are buying cereals or breads?

How many times have you come to the cooking club? (check all that apply)

First time today 2 or 3 times 4 or5 times I came last year.

Questionnaire #3Week 6- after measuring, protein, grains

Questionnaire #4Week 7-8

Past and Present Mark answers for before the cooking club and now.

READ the statement in the middle, then think about what you knew and what you did BEFORE you came to Cooking Club and mark your answer on the LEFT.NOW, on the RIGHT,mark how often you do something now AFTER coming to Cooking Club.

1= not at all 2= rarely, hardly at all 3= usually, like every other day 4=all the time, every day

BEFORE Cooking Club READ THIS FIRST AFTER Cooking Club

1 2 3 4 Eat whole grains such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta or whole wheat bread at least once a day

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 Fix and eat a balanced meal for dinner every night

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 Eat food that is baked or roasted or steamed or sauteed instead of fried

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 Select fresh vegetables like spinach or broccoli or green beans or other vegetables for lunch or dinner

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 Eat fruit like apples or oranges with meals or as a healthy snack

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 Try something I hadn’t eaten before, such as green or root vegetables

1 2 3 4

How many times have you come to the cooking club? (check all that apply)

First time today 2 or 3 times 4 or 5 times 6 or 7 times 8 or 9 times Every week I came last year.

Questionnaire #4Week 7-8