The Logan, Mason, Menard Team consisted of nine competitors. In the front row (left to right): Brooklynn Wieland and Courtney Wieland of Pleasant Plains-Sangamon County; Kahlan Merriman of New Holland Middletown-Logan County. In the back row from the left: Roux Star, Lincoln-Logan County; Malaysia Moore, Springfield, Sangamon County; Alyssa Boatman, Cavit Schempp and Leanna Babineaux of Atlanta-Logan County.

Teens go head to head in food competition

[May 21, 2015]  LINCOLN - Many of us rely on a trusted cookbook recipe when we preparing a meal, especially when guests will be visiting, but a group of area teens created a dish completely from scratch using ground turkey, beets, spinach, mozzarella and quinoa at the first annual 4-H Food Challenge contest against Logan, Sangamon, Menard Counties verses Peoria County.

The teens, part of the local 4-H Food Challenge Club, were given an assortment of key ingredients the day of the contest and told to prepare a healthy food dish. Each team consists of two to three middle and high school youth who had been meeting the past month to strengthen their food nutrition and preparation skills.

In addition to the food item, each team gave a short presentation to the panel of judges and answered questions about the dish they created. The final score reflected the team’s comprehensive ratings for the day based on their nutrition knowledge, food preparation skills, food safety skills, and serving size knowledge, as well as the food’s appearance, quality and presentation.
 

Molly Schempp (Atlanta-Logan County)

The Sangamon, Menard and Logan County 4-H Food Challenge team comprised of nine members on three teams competed against the Peoria County 4-H Food Challenge team which had four members on two teams on May 2nd at Bradley University. The public was invited to this free event.

Last year, more than 35,000 different healthy living projects were studied by youth in the Illinois 4-H program. To learn more about 4-H in the community, one may contact Carissa Akpore, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development at 217-732-8289 or [e-mail]

[Carissa Akpore, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development]