The Clark County Cooperative Extension Service team was recently awarded the Extension Excellence County Team Award, which recognizes the county or counties whose staff best demonstrates a consistent and cohesive team approach to programs and county office operations within or across county boundaries, for their collaborative effort to create the 4-H Kid Chef Challange program and curriculum.
Kid Chef Challenge is a fun and educational monthly cooking activity for 4-H youth tapping into their interest in competitive events. During the contest, youth participate in additional educational activities designed to enhance understanding of healthy eating, increase cooking skills, and deepen connections with Arkansas grown foods, producers, and career opportunities.
This program is a collaborative effort between the Clark County Extension staff, which includes Amy Simpson, ag agent and staff chair; JoAnn Vann, family and consumer science agent; Cindy Ham, 4H agent; and Cassidy Reeves, administrative specialist. Kid Chef Challenge program is a combination of original content developed by the staff of the Clark County Extension Office, UADA publications, Arkansas Farm Bureau Ag Readers, publications from other Extension states, and USDA. All curriculum package design, marketing materials, lesson plans, evaluations, tracking tools, and participant guide were developed by the Clark County team. The team also developed original presentations, activities, and teaching tools for lessons.
The youth participating accumulated points for each cooking contest they placed in throughout the year in pursuit of the “champion” and “runner-up” titles. Contest prizes were sponsored by the Clark County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and the Clark County 4-H Foundation.
This curriculum was made available statewide in December of 2022 for adoption by other counties. The program has been adopted by two additional counties and requested by another two counties.
The finished product was awarded 2nd Place Curriculum Package regionally and nationally at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) National Conference in September 2023.
Vann was also honored with the NEAFCS Distinguished Service Award, which is the highest award presented by the NEAFCS. The award recognizes members for leadership, educational program efforts and professional development, and she was part of the state team that was awarded the NEAFCS National 3rd Place Curriculum Package Award for the Move with Ease Curriculum with Heather Wingo, Extension Program Associate-Health.
During the Extension Excellence Conference, Ham was recognized for 25 years of service, and Simpson was recognized for 20 years of service to the Cooperative Extension Service.
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