Nutritional Cooking Program with Girls Inc., Taunton, MA

As a member of the Institutional Review Board-approved research team comprised of Dr. Maura Rosenthal, Dr. Angela Bailey, and Christina Elderbee, I led a six-week community-based health program that included cooking lessons for girls aged 10 to 13. I taught girls how to prepare healthful foods that they may cook with their family and friends at home. The larger project, Building Equity Through Collaboration with Girl\u27s Inc., aims to study the outcomes of girls’ participation in after school and summer camp programs in 2021 and 2022. One part of this research, which intends to learn more about girls\u27 current and future interests in physical activity and health programming, was developed with my help. This cooking program can teach girls how to love themselves regardless of their circumstances and how to take care of their bodies to stay healthy. The relevance of this program is backed up by Bristol County\u27s health statistics. In terms of health outcomes and variables, Bristol County is listed as one of the least healthy counties in Massachusetts. For example, the physical inactivity among adults in the county is 24% and 29% of adults suffer from obesity which unfortunately results in a huge health behavior challenge (County health rankings & Roadmaps, 2022)