Each year, The Junior League of Philadelphia’s (JLP) Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) Committee runs two six-week sessions of programming, one in the fall and one in the spring. The programming consists of a weekly curriculum that the KITK Committee creates from scratch for community partners to use in teaching students about nutrition and healthy eating. KITK Committee members are responsible for contributing at least one recipe per semester to the curriculum, using various lesson categories to help guide their choices, such as fruits and vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats. With so much variation in the curriculum from year to year, it is helpful for the Committee to gather feedback from community partners through a post-semester survey to learn what worked well and what did not.
So, what did KITK’s community partners think of the programming for the Spring 2025 semester?
The Committee’s first survey question asked partners how long it took to teach the curriculum lessons. This included the time spent teaching the weekly lesson plan and the time needed to prepare the recipe associated with each lesson. About two-thirds of respondents said the curriculum took just the right amount of time, while the remaining third felt the lessons took too long and that less programming was needed. These sentiments were reflected in responses to the second survey question, which asked community partners to rate the ease of teaching the semester’s lessons on a scale of one to five, with one being the most difficult and five being the easiest. Again, two-thirds of respondents rated the recipes as easy to teach, selecting either a four or five. The remaining third responded with a score below two, indicating that the recipes were difficult and possibly time consuming to teach.
Community partners were also asked whether they felt the curriculum content was age appropriate. On a scale of one to five, with one representing “Not appropriate” and five representing “Very appropriate.” All respondents selected either a four or five. In addition, all respondents indicated that students were more confident in their ability to make the recipes after completing the program than they were before the program began.
The survey also provided community partners with an opportunity to share open response feedback.
“KITK is great at providing kitchen tools and supplies needed to complete lessons,” one respondent shared. “There are a great balance and opportunity for children to engage with both savory and sweet items to cook while remaining healthy. The students especially love working with fresh fruits, particularly blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries that are not commonly available at home or in school.” Other comments noted the KITK programming gives students the opportunity to make new foods and that the lessons engage students even before the cooking begins.
Respondents also identified areas for potential improvement. One suggestion was to give students more input on what they would like to cook, such as choosing broccoli or spinach on pizza instead of cucumbers, which were not a favorite among students. Additional feedback included offering frozen or canned produce when certain fruits or vegetables are out of season to reinforce that healthy choices are available year-round, as well as providing non-dairy alternatives for students who are lactose intolerant.
Food delivery was also mentioned as an area for improvement. KITK relies on Instacart to deliver ingredients to partner schools. While this approach is generally time efficient, some inconsistencies were noted. Committee members occasionally experienced unavailable items, which required placing additional orders from different stores to ensure all ingredients arrived on time.
Overall, KITK’s community partners were overwhelmingly supportive of the program, with all respondents indicating interest in working with KITK again. It sounds like a recipe for success.