According to the USDA, Ohio has one of the highest food insecurity rates at 11.5%. This equates to 1,391,290 people in Ohio that are food insecure; 386,430 are children. Additionally, literacy is a concern in our area. Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) reports that 59% of Mahoning County residents have less than a Level 3 literacy proficiency, compared to 54% for the state of Ohio. Several schools in our county report 3rd grade math and English language achievement scores that show more than 50% are performing at a proficient level or lower. In Youngstown City Schools alone 77% of 3rd graders test as limited in math skills. A teaching kitchen at the Library develops literacy skills (through reading and following recipes) and equips participants with cooking skills, supporting healthy eating habits at home.

• Utilize staple and in-season ingredients to minimize cost and to demonstrate low-cost and healthy options.
• Educators from Mercy Health use the space to conduct nutrition classes and cooking lessons.
• Community presenters create authentic ethnic dishes.
• Programs are scalable. They take place in our commercial kitchen or are adapted to use the kitchen cart or take place in meeting rooms. This expands our reach throughout the county.
• Specific skills targeted in culinary programs include: math – measuring and conversions; shapes and vocabulary (e.g., 1/8” dice vs. julienne); science – understanding how different ingredients work (e.g., how yeast and baking powder differ); literacy – reading a recipe from start to finish and understanding which tasks must be done before beginning; logical thinking, and memory training; knife skills; and time management – calculating how long each dish takes and adjusting prep and cooking times so that all dishes are finished simultaneously.

There were 90 programs offered in the CLC in 2023, with a total attendance of 1,078. Expanding programs to other locations with a grant-funded kitchen cart increased our reach to over 3,000 people. During programs, we have observed:

• Increased vocabulary and sequencing skills by following recipes and learning kitchen techniques
• Increased kitchen skills as terms and practices like sifting and specific ways to measure dry vs. wet ingredients are learned and carried over between programs

Featured ethnic dishes include Chinese dumplings, Columbian cheese arepas, and Cuban pastelitos.
Surveys show that 90% agree or strongly agree that they learned something helpful through kitchen programs, they are more confident in what they learned in these programs and intend to apply the skills they learned in the future. These outcomes show us that food programs offer learning opportunities that are growing literacy skills and cultural awareness as well as contributing to health and wellness.