Local Teens Plan 4-H Food and Veggie Challenge
Local Teens Plan 4-H Food and Veggie Challenge
Everett and Cortez
Local teens Everett Charles and Cortez Chandler are taking leadership to the next level as they
coordinate an event to help youth make healthier food options and cook nutritious meals on a
budget.
The 16-year- old Everett, and 15-year- old Cortez, have work for weeks to get this 4-H Food
Smart Families event planned. Through a partnership with United Healthcare and the National
4-H Council, the youth have coordinated a Teen Activation event to be held on December 1
2017 at 8:20am at Jackson Careers and Technology School.
“I am extremely excited about this opportunity because it allows me to showcase the skills I have
learned in 4-H to my peers in the community,” said Cortez who attend Jackson Central Merry
Early College High School, in Jackson, TN. This program is going to be a guide to help young
people understand what they need to know about food and help them be more involved in the
food selection process when buying groceries for their homes.
Nearly 16 million children live in households that are food insecure, meaning they don’t have
consistent access to food throughout the year. 4-H Food Smart Families creates more food
secure homes by teaching families how to shop for and cook nutritious meals on a budget.
“I look forward to see if the young people like what we have planned for them,” said Everett
who attend North Side High School. If this works, I would like to help plan more events like this
in the future. This is information we need to know to be healthier individuals.
Youth are going to be able to participate in about 5 different stations. They will learn to prepare
different meals using a variety of fruits and vegetables, how to follow recipes, and gain tips on
shopping on a budget.
This event is one of 3 Teen Activation events being conducted across the state of Tennessee.
“Cortez and Everett have taken this project on and have committed themselves to the process
100 percent,” said Kane Reeves, Extension Agent. Youth leadership is something that we try to
teach to the youth at a young age so that they can begin to give back to others as they grow into
productive adults.
The program coordinators hope that youth will become part of a healthy living solution by
showing them that even small steps, like adding more fruits and vegetables to meals and snacks,
can lead to big health improvements. Additionally, there goal is to help lower the risk of youth
obesity and other serious health problems.
The mission of Tennessee 4-H is to provide research-based Extension educational experiences
that will stimulate young people to gain knowledge, develop life skills, and form positive
attitudes to prepare them to become capable, responsible and compassionate adults. For more
information, visit the website 4h.tennessee.edu.
Through their mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute
of Agriculture and Tennessee State University touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions.
ag.tennessee.edu
