LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Stuart Academy students in Jefferson County are learning the importance of eating whole foods as opposed to processed food. Over 11% of the U.S. population live with Type 2 diabetes, according to a 2021 Center for Disease Control report. 

Joyce Hendrickson’s classroom is proving there can never be too many cooks in the kitchen. That’s thanks to her after-school Cooking-Matters program. 

The program was started last year as a way to teach students healthy recipes they can make on their own. Students learn about the importance of nutrition labels and understanding what is in their food. 

Hendrickson has been teaching family consumer science for most of her 28-year career. She says growing up there were mixed messages on what was healthy to consume. 

Now, as a teacher, she wants to make sure her students know what is healthy and why. “One thing I just hope the kids learn from this is that natural is always better. The less that humans mess with it, the better off. And I just hope they enjoy themselves when they get a full tummy,” Hendrickson said. 

The students seem to be having fun and understanding the importance of eating healthy food. 

“The type of food that you either like unhealthy and makes you have a type of like sickness,” one student says. 

Hendrickson says the students are enthusiastic about the after-school program. 

“They were so eager to learn about what’s in our foods and how to have healthy and healthy choices, to live longer and not just live longer, but use those years productively and be able to get around.”

Students in Cooking-Matters will receive the ingredients used in the recipes to recreate what they made in class with their families.