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On Monday, July 28th, the 4-H Food,
Nutrition, and Health show was held in the yellow door barn of the
Logan County Fairgrounds. This 4-H show was hosted by the University
of Illinois Extension Office. Kids between the ages of eight and
eighteen could submit projects in one of several categories. These
categories were Cooking 101, 201, 301, 401, Food Science, Sport
Nutrition, Food Preservation, Visual Arts - Food/Cake Decorating,
and Health.
When kids and their parents
arrived, they took their projects over to the check-in table. Here,
either Deana Brooks or Amanda Gray would check them in and give them
everything they needed to take to the judges. The children and their
parents then would wait until it was their turn.
There were two judges, Heather
Cosby and Stacie Skelton, who were each at their own table. One at a
time, the kids would bring their projects up and present them to
either Cosby or Skelton. The projects the kids brought up ranged
from informative projects on health-related topics to baked goods.
Cosby and Skelton each spent several minutes talking to each kid,
asking them questions about their submissions and having a
conversation. Both would occasionally provide constructive criticism
so that the kids can learn and grow, but both seemed impressed
overall with the quality of the submissions. Cosby, owner of Flossie
and Delzena’s in Lincoln, even made a joke about wanting many of the
kids to come work in her restaurant.
Kade Furman submitted and presented
a project on sports nutrition. Furman stated, “sports nutrition is
important for players because if you don’t have sports nutrition,
you can get dehydrated then you can get really hurt.” Furman stated
that he plays baseball, football, and basketball. He will be taking
what he learned while making this project to make some changes going
forward. “I am going to eat better and not eat junk food as much.”
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Siblings Evalyn and Boston
Tomlinson each made submissions, one that could be looked at, and
one that could be eaten. Evalyn decorated a cake that she made from
Styrofoam. She shared that she saw a flower design that inspired her
to decorate her cake the way she did. She said that, while she
really enjoys baking and cake decorating, she is not sure yet if
that is something she wants to do for a living. It is more of a
hobby at the moment.
Boston, on the other hand,
submitted homemade rolls. He shared that baking is something that he
enjoys, and the more he does it, the more he comes to love it.
Boston stated that he loves rolls from Texas Roadhouse, and that is
what inspired him to bake and submit his own rolls. Boston had a
very highly level of confidence in his rolls, however, stating” this
recipe might be better than Texas Roadhouse.”
Tyler Conklen entered food items in
the category of Food Preservation. Conklen’s two submissions were a
tomatillo salsa and cucumber relish. He stated that, with the
exception of the onions, everything in both jars was home grown.
Conklen also shared that he and his dad love to put the salsa on
tacos. “It is a long process,” he said, “but it’s worth it in the
end.”
As each child finished presenting their food projects, the items
were taken to be placed on display in the yellow door barn, where
they will be on display for the duration of the fair.
[Matt Boutcher]
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