Family Consumer Sciences
4-H Foods and Nutrition Project
The Colorado 4‑H Foods and Nutrition Project helps youth build skills in cooking, healthy eating, and food preservation.
- Units 1–4 introduce beginning cooks to kitchen safety, basic food preparation, and baking items such as cookies, breads, muffins, cakes, and pies, along with planning simple celebrations or meals.
- Units 5–7 explore specialty cooking, including outdoor campfire methods, experimenting with herbs and slow cookers, and preparing international foods while learning about global customs and dietary traditions.
- Food Preservation units teach safe techniques for drying, freezing, and canning fruits, vegetables, pickles, tomato products, meats, and salsa, with advanced pressure‑canning available for older members.
Youth may also participate in Creative Cooks contests at the county or state level.
Learn more about the 4-H Foods and Nutrition project on Colorado 4-H.
Official Project Materials
Materials & Curriculum
SLV Area Clubs
The San Luis Valley Area has several 4-H clubs that coordinate events and help mentor youth members through a variety of 4-H projects. Most clubs meet once a month.
San Luis Valley Foods and Nutrition Project Details
This project educates on the basic knowledge of foods and nutrition.
You must complete a cooking project or food preservation project according to state fair requirements along with a completed record book.
Requirements:
- Attend 2 projects meetings.
- Record book in a 3-ring folder will need to accompany your project.
- See Project Manuals above in Materials & Curriculum for details.
Cost:
- Manuals for units 1-4 can be purchased from shop 4-H or SLV Extension for $10.50 to $12.50
- Outdoor, Cultural and Passport and Preservation manuals can be printed from Colorado 4-H or purchased from SLV Extension for $3.00 to $7.95
- Matters to complete a Foods and Nutrition project can range from $5 to $25