Cooking Matters at the Store is a free program of the No Kid Hungry campaign that empowers families to stretch their food budgets so their children get healthy meals at home. Cooking Matters at the Store is a guided grocery store tour that teaches low-income adults how to get the most nutrition for their food dollars.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Direct Education

From the guided grocery store tours, low-income adults learn how to shop smart, cook delicious and affordable meals for their families, and use nutrition information to make healthier choices. Cooking Matters at the Store is a widespread program and is implemented in community settings throughout the United States.

Setting: Community

Target Audience: Pregnant/Breastfeeding Women, Parents/Mothers/Fathers, Adults, Older Adults

Race/Ethnicity: All

Cooking Matters at the Store consists of a 1.5-hour store tour. Participants are empowered with four key food skills:

1. Reading food labels
2. Comparing unit prices
3. Finding whole grain foods
4. Identifying three ways to purchase produce

A Cooking Matters tour guide shows participants around the store. Participants take home a booklet with recipes and shopping tips, a reusable grocery bag, and $10 worth of healthy groceries.

In 2013, Altarum Institute evaluated Cooking Matters at the Store’s impact. Highlights from the report include:

• Following a grocery store tour, most families have high confidence in their ability to make their food purchases go farther (74%) and to get the most produce for their money (72%).
• 89% of families report saving money on groceries five weeks after a tour.
• Food security increased from 53% to 64% after taking a tour.
• The percentage of families comparing food labels for ingredients when shopping more than doubled from 40% pre-tour to 83% post-tour.
• After a tour:
  • 76% of families buy more fruits and vegetables
  • 62% of families buy more low-sodium foods
  • 55% of families buy more low-sugar foods
  • 62% of families buy more lean proteins
  • 54% of families buy more low-fat dairy
  • 85% of families buy less unhealthy food

For more information, refer to the full report: https://cookingmatters.org/sites/default/files/CMS_Evaluation_Brochure_Final_Print_ready.pdf

Classification: Practice-tested

Based on the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, the following outcome indicators can be used to evaluate intervention progress and success.

	Readiness and Capacity – Short Term (ST)	Changes – Medium Term (MT)	Effectiveness and Maintenance – Long Term (LT)	Population Results (R)
Individual	ST1, ST2	MT1, MT2	LT1, LT2
Environmental Settings
Sectors of Influence

There are currently no evaluation materials publicly available.

Website: The Cooking Matters at the Store website (http://cookingmatters.org/at-the-store) includes buying tips, recipes, and videos.

Contact Person(s):
National Office
1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 1100 W, Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 478-6540
Email: cookingmatters@strength.org