To support Hawaiʻi‘s youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawaiʻi State 4-H program, part of the Cooperative Extension Service housed in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) has created a virtual video cooking contest for youth in Hawaiʻi ages 12–18. Entrants do not need to be a current 4-H member to participate in the contest.
The goal is for participants to create a video featuring a local commodity (plant or animal) that demonstrates the successful completion of a healthful recipe. Entrants will participate in county-level competitions, and county winners will be selected to compete in a state-wide competition. The state round of the contest will showcase the county winners’ food photography skills.
As part of the challenge, the aspiring cooks will learn food safety, kitchen skills, nutrition facts and presentation skills. The contest is supported with resources from the UH Mānoa Extension GET Local program.
Submissions are due by April 30, but youth will need to be registered for the challenge in order to participate in the contest and receive updates. To register, visit the 4-H registration page at: http://go.hawaii.edu/AD6 or contact Nancy Ooki, Hawaiʻi State 4-H Program Coordinator at (808) 244-3242 ext. 225 or by email.
Awards for the contest will be provided by support from The Ardis Tanaka Foods and Nutrition Project Support Award. Tanaka, a CTAHR alumna, was a member of the Inspirations 4-H club and also served as a 4-H leader for the Reminiscence 4-H club for five years and had a lifelong impact on the lives of its eight members. She helped her club members with various 4-H projects and guided her members through their teenage years.
When Tanaka died in November 2009, her club members and 4-H alumni friends created a scholarship fund to support food and nutrition projects and continue her legacy of “making the best better.”
