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. 2024 Mar 16;16(6):865.
doi: 10.3390/nu16060865.

Cultivating Healthier Habits: The Impact of Workplace Teaching Kitchens on Employee Food Literacy

Richard Daker  1 , Ghislaine Challamel  1 , Chavanne Hanson  2 , Jane Upritchard  3
Affiliations

Cultivating Healthier Habits: The Impact of Workplace Teaching Kitchens on Employee Food Literacy

Richard Daker et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This research explores the impact of workplace teaching kitchen cooking classes on participants' food literacy and identifies key predictors of employee engagement. Aligning with the existing literature, we demonstrate that a workplace teaching kitchen program, with hands-on cooking classes, effectively enhances food skills and intrinsic motivation-core aspects of food literacy. Importantly, our results reveal that even a single class can have a measurable impact. Teaching kitchens can successfully engage employees, particularly those with low food skills, showcasing their broad appeal beyond individuals already engaged in wellness or seeking social connection. Awareness emerges as the most influential predictor of participation, emphasizing the crucial role of marketing. Virtual classes prove as effective as onsite ones, offering the potential to increase access for employees. Recognizing employee wellness as a strategic opportunity for employers and a sought-after benefit for top talent, we underscore the importance of practical nutrition education to support individuals in shifting food choices within lifestyle constraints. Workplace teaching kitchens emerge as an effective and scalable solution to address this need. Future research should prioritize exploring the lasting impacts of teaching kitchen education on employee eating habits and health, contributing to ongoing strategy refinement.

Keywords: cooking; employees; food literacy; nutrition education; teaching kitchens; wellbeing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare Richard Daker and Ghislaine Challamel are employees of Restaurant Associates. Jane Upritchard is an employee of Bon Appetit Management Company. Chavanne Hanson is employed by Google LLC. Google LLC and Compass Group North America (the parent company of Restaurant Associates and Bon Appetit Management Company) are both members of the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Change in food literacy measures after teaching kitchen classes. This figure shows the values of each food literacy measure by time (1 = pre-survey; 2 = post-survey). Error bars represent standard errors. One star (*) indicates a significant difference between pre- and post-survey values at p < 0.05, and three stars (***) indicates a significant difference between pre- and post-survey values at p < 0.001 using paired t-tests.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Change in food skills by number of teaching kitchen classes taken. This figure shows the change in food skills by the number (#) of on-site classes taken in between the pre- and post-surveys. Error bars represent standard errors.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Food literacy changes as a function of initial food literacy levels. This figure shows scatterplots of food literacy scores on the pre-survey on the x-axis and the change in food literacy scores on the y-axis for each food literacy measure. Lines of best fit are shown. (A) Importance of cooking (B) Ease and pleasure of cooking (C) Food skills (D) Confidence in the kitchen.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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