A Secondary Program Evaluation of Arkansas’ Cooking Matters Program

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of Cooking Matters for Adults in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the differential impact of the program for SNAP participants. Design: Secondary program evaluation Setting: This study aggregates data from over 100 implementations of Cooking Matters in Arkansas. Participants: Participants were predominantly female (79.42%), Caucasian (51.33%), and aged 60 or older (28.82%) with an average of 2.89 household members. Intervention: Cooking Matters helps families to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget, as part of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign Main Outcome Measure(s): Cooking Matters Survey scale scores Analysis: Repeated measures ANOVA Results: Participant perceptions of cooking confidence, dietary choices, dietary patterns, healthy food preparation, and food resource management significantly increased from pre- to post- Cooking Matters program. Perceptions of cooking barriers decreased from pre- to post- Cooking Matters program. SNAP participants had differential changes in perception of cooking barriers when compared to non-SNAP participants. Conclusions and Implications: Arkansas’ findings reflect the national impact evaluation. All Cooking Matters participants benefited from the program regardless of sex, race, and educational status. Cooking Matters transcends across multiple demographic groups and is an effective program for addressing food insecurity and hunger.