Women who cook, eat and chat together also improve their diet together, according to a Cornell University study of a cooperative extension program.

In fact, women on limited income who participated in the six-week Sisters in Health program reported they ate 40 percent more fruits and vegetables.

The Cornell program focuses on women cooking, eating and sharing nutrition activities in small groups. Unlike other "nutrition education" programs focusing on teaching information, which often experience high drop-out rates, Sisters in Health groups actually increased in size as participants brought their friends.

In addition, the women ended up with dramatically more confidence and know-how on preparing and serving fruits and vegetables to their families, says Carol Devine, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell.

"We knew from a previous study we did in Rochester (N.Y.) that women who liked fruits and vegetables had positive memories associated with these foods," says Devine. "We set out, therefore, to create our own positive experiences for the women to associate with eating fruits and vegetables while they developed their food preparation skills and nutrition knowledge."

Instead of a didactic approach telling women "you should eat vegetables because...," Devine and her colleagues created small social cooking groups with specific objectives.

For example, in one session, the women prepared a salad bar and then helped themselves. "By comparing nutrition labels for each food, they learned that turning a ho-hum tossed salad into a nutritional bonanza may be as easy as substituting fresh spinach or romaine lettuce for iceberg lettuce," says Cornell extension associate Tracy Farrell who worked on the project with Devine.

With Farrell and Wyoming County extension agent Rosemary Hartman , who expects her masters degree from Cornell in the spring of '99, Devine field tested the program with 242 women in 24 groups across 15 New York counties. Recruited from Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED), Food Stamp Nutrition Education, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education (EFNEP) and Head Start programs, the women participated in six 90-minute meetings that emphasized practical ways to prepare quick and tasty fruit and vegetable dishes.

"Participants learned more about these foods and the importance of eating them while they cooked and talked together, sharing their skills and experiences," says Farrell. By the end of the program, participants also were significantly more likely to:

• know how to prepare vegetables so they taste delicious
• prepare vegetables in ways that family members like
• have enough time to prepare vegetables as often as desired
• prepare fruits and vegetables so they turn out as expected

Other activities included trying recipes designed to please children who are picky eaters; brainstorming and preparing creative pasta toppings and touring a grocery store together to compare quality and cost of different fruits and vegetables.

"Both participants and group facilitators were extremely positive about the program. We know as nutritionists that it's difficult to get people to come out again and again, so the program had to be rewarding," says Devine. "The women said they especially enjoyed the active food preparation and sharing of skills and experiences."

Says one anonymous participant: "If it was not for Sisters in Health, I would never have known how much my children like other veggies I never tried before." Says another, "I really feel proud that I am eating more fruits and vegetables than I ever did before." Another notes, "I never liked broccoli before I started this class. Now I buy it every week and eat it many different ways."

One facilitator said the program was "easy to implement because lesson plans were ready-to-go but had flexibility." Another facilitator liked that "recipes were simple with ingredients [that were] not out of the ordinary."

In the next phase of the study, Devine and Farrell are offering the program in another 10 New York counties and comparing the changes in the women's attitudes and behaviors with those of a control group.

Details of how to launch a similar program are spelled out in the publication, Sisters in Health, available from Cornell. Devine presented her findings at the American Public Health Association annual meeting on Nov. 17 in Washington, D.C.

The 111-page manual used in the Cornell program is available from the Cornell University Media and Technology Services Resource Center, 7 BTP, Ithaca, N. Y. 14850 for $10. New York residents must include applicable sales tax. Copies will also be available at some Cornell Cooperative Extension offices located throughout New York State.