4-H Food and Nutrition Project

Get started with 4-H'ers in your area

• Find a club near you or contact your local 4-H office for more info.

Get started on your own

• National 4-H food and nutrition activity books (for sale)

• Iowa 4-H Food & Nutrition Project Hot Sheet (free download)

• Utah 4-H cake decorating, healthy snacks and family & consumer science activity sheets (free download)

Food & nutrition

Make a video, poster or display about:

• How to read food labels
• Experiment with changing recipes and share the results
• Compare the cost of bought food vs. home made
• Plan, cook and serve a special meal for your family
• Make a recipe calendar for a gift - include a recipe for each month
• Collect a set of favorite recipes and present it
• Research sports drinks vs. water - share results via poster
• Make a video or poster about kitchen safety or food safety
• Compare food products on nutrition, cost and convenience
• Careers in the nutrition or food industry
• How food choices and physical fitness are related to diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis or diabetes
• Make a dietary plan for yourself, an athlete, a sedentary person, etc.

Food preservation

• Dried vegetables, fruit, meat, herbs
• 2 pint jars of different fruits, vegetables, james, jellies, preserves, pickles, meats, etc.
• 4-H food preservation project ideas (Video)

Food revue

Plan a full-course meal around a theme to then bring the following:

• A binder containing the menu, cost, nutritional information, pictures, etc.
• One item of food from the menu 
• A place setting that includes dishes, silverware and linens
• A centerpiece 

What a judge is looking for

• Food & nutrition (Eval sheet)
• Food revue (Eval sheet)
• Food preservation (Eval sheet)
• Food preservation project judging at the fair (Video)
• 4-H food preservation project guidelines for fairs (Video) 

Learn about 4-H at the fair

Record keeping

Some counties require record keeping for fairs.