(07/31/25) BATON ROUGE, La. — From June 23 to June 26, Southern University hosted the Creating Healthy Enjoyable Foods, or CHEF Camp, for Baton Rouge-area students. The camp taught participants how to find, prepare and cook healthy foods along with important safety and cooking tips in the kitchen.

This camp was conducted as a collaboration between the SU Ag Center and the LSU AgCenter. The information provided during the camp was based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “MyPlate” food guidance system and dietary guidelines.

“Each day, the students learned how to cook different dishes as well as perform new food preparation techniques,” said Vadel Shivers, the Nutrition and Community Health supervising agent with the LSU AgCenter. “I hope that the tips, suggestions and knowledge that we're providing to them can be useful now and throughout their whole lifetime.”

Outside of helpful tips for cooking, the camp exposed students to the role of nutrients, vitamins and minerals in the diet, the importance of physical activity and easy arts and crafts for and from the kitchen. The students participated in activities such as designing their own chef’s hat and using the color from foods like carrots and cabbages to create unique works of art.

This program is held in other parishes around the state and has far greater impacts than just the one week of learning for the students. Shivers hopes these tools can be used by not only the children in the camp, but also their households and family members.

With help from Kleinpeter Dairy, the Louisiana Egg Commission and the SU Foundation, the camp’s goal was to inspire kids to make healthy choices and share what they’ve learned with their families.

“I feel that this camp is a wonderful opportunity to teach youth how to cook with healthier food items and influence their families to prepare healthy dishes,” Shivers said. “With confidence, they can prepare healthy meals with their parents, siblings, grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles and friends.”

The program is conducted every summer. For more information, go to www.suagnutrition.com.

Students in the CHEF Camp pick out healthy foods as snacks on Southern University’s campus. The weeklong camp teaches kids to make nutritious and healthy food choices. Photo by Anthony Bailey/LSU AgCenter