If you want to be a star in the kitchen, try the food & nutrition project! You’ll learn kitchen and cooking safety, how to prepare nutritious meals and snacks, and meal ideas to reduce your risk of disease. Learning experiences focus on nutrition, food purchasing, food preparation, food safety, and related careers.
Food & Nutrition Contests
Food Challenge
- In this contest, teams of 3-4 students receive a secret ingredient and have 40 minutes to create a dish. The teams then present their dish to judges are scored on preparation, serving size, food safety concerns, and nutritional value.
- Opportunities to Compete: State Fair of Texas, Heart of Texas Fair, Tom Green County Invitational, San Angelo Livestock Show, San Antonio Livestock Show, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Tri-County Food Challenge Contest, D9 Roundup, and Texas 4-H Roundup
Family & Community Health Quiz Bowl
- This contest is quiz game that tests teams of 4 on their knowledge of basic nutrition, consumer information, food and kitchen safety, food preparation skills and storage, and health. Up against the clock, the 4-Hers buzz in to answer a question and earn points for correct answers. Teams advance in a tournament-system bracket to win the competition.
- Opportunities to Compete: D9 Invitational Contest, D9 Roundup, Texas 4-H Roundup
Food Show
- In this contest, you choose a recipe from the contest categories and then prepare and present it to a panel of judges. During your interview with the judges, you will show how you prepared it, the nutrients and ingredients, personal dietary needs, and healthy substitutions.
- Opportunities to Compete: D9 Roundup, Texas 4-H Roundup
Agricultural Product ID
- This contest provides youth the ability to further their knowledge and skills when evaluating agricultural products grown in Texas. For the Agriculture Product Identification contest, 20 Texas agricultural products are selected and exhibited at separate stations. Contestants select the correct identification of each product from four possible answers. Following the product identification, each station has one multiple-choice question pertaining to the product on display. Questions can be general to the industry that produced the product, (i.e. Texas’ national ranking, economic impact to Texas, general nutrition content, region of production) and specific to the individual product that is on display (i.e. cooking method, use, growing season, specific nutrition of the cut or variety).
- Opportunities to Compete: State Fair of Texas, Heart of Texas Fair, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, D9 Roundup, and Texas 4-H Roundup
Grow. Texas.
- Texas 4-H has teamed up with Love, Tito’s Foundation to help youth discover the connection between growing and eating healthy foods. Youth participating in this experience will select a growing option best suitable for them. Options include organic or traditional growing in either containers, raised beds, or row gardens. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about gardening and nutrition from experts in the field via online learning modules and mentorship programs.
- Grow. Texas. Guidelines
Food & Nutrition Resources
