Funded Projects

Cooking Up Healthier Futures

Project Year

2026

City & State

Miami, Florida

Program Name

Resident

Topic

Overweight & Obesity (LHI)

Program Description

Problem: Childhood obesity remains a major U.S. public-health concern, with recent CDC NHANES estimates showing obesity in children and adolescents (ages 2–19) at ~21.1%. The burden is concentrated in lower-income households (~25.8% at ≤130% FPL vs ~11.5% at >350% FPL), reflecting structural barriers such as food insecurity, easy access to low-cost calorie-dense foods, limited safe activity spaces, reduced preventive care, and lack of practical nutrition education. Obesity also tracks over time,~55% of children with obesity remain obese in adolescence and ~80% of adolescents remain obese in adulthood,driving earlier cardiometabolic risk and long-term chronic disease. School-based nutrition education is an evidence-supported upstream strategy that can improve nutrition knowledge and dietary behaviors, particularly in under-resourced communities.

Primary Setting: This project will be implemented in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), focusing on schools supported by the University of Miami School Health Initiative (SHI). These schools primarily serve underserved, low-income communities where the need for practical nutrition education and obesity prevention is greatest. SHI’s established school-based platform provides trusted access to students and families facing barriers to healthcare and nutrition resources, strengthening feasibility and sustainability.

Number of Children Affected: Approximately 60 school-aged children from M DCPS schools will participate, delivered in two cohorts of 30 students to support small-group, interactive instruction.

Project Goal: To reduce obesity risk by improving nutrition-related behaviors through practical cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, and confidence,reinforced through caregiver engagement so healthy changes are realistic and sustainable at home.

Proposed Intervention: In partnership with SHI and EatWell Exchange, the program will deliver a structured, culturally responsive culinary and nutrition education curriculum within the school setting. EatWell Exchange’s programming is led by registered dietitians with extensive experience delivering hands-on, culturally relevant cooking and nutrition education in underserved communities, ensuring nutritional accuracy, cultural relevance, and strong community engagement. Each cohort will receive six classes over three months (two classes per month), focused on hands-on learning, simple healthy meal preparation, and practical strategies for making healthier choices within real-life constraints. Programming will emphasize accessible, budget-conscious, culturally relevant foods and will include caregiver-facing components (e.g., take-home recipes and reinforcement strategies) to support a healthy home environment and strengthen school-to-home transfer of skills. SHI’s school-based platform will support implementation, coordination with schools, and integration with existing student health services and resources. 

Anticipated Outcomes: Program impact will be assessed using pre- and post-program surveys administered to participating students and/or caregivers. The pre-survey will measure baseline behaviors and barriers, including frequency of vegetable intake, perceived barriers to healthy eating, frequency of eating out/consuming fast or highly processed foods, and comfort level with cooking. The post-survey will assess behavior change and engagement, including increased vegetable intake, willingness to try healthy foods, greater interest in cooking, and improved confidence preparing simple healthy meals. We anticipate meaningful improvements in nutrition behaviors, with a target of ~85% of participants reporting improvement in dietary behaviors. Where feasible and appropriate, SHI clinical infrastructure may support tracking of selected health indicators (e.g., BMI trends and/or lipid/cholesterol screening results) to explore potential downstream health improvements over time. 

Project Goal

To reduce future obesity risk and promote healthy weight trajectories among school-aged children in underserved Miami-Dade County communities by increasing nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, and healthy eating behaviors through a culturally responsive, school-based culinary education program with caregiver engagement.

Project Objective 1

Knowledge/Skills: By the end of each 3-month cohort, at least 85% of participating school-aged children (60 total across two cohorts of 30) will demonstrate increased nutrition knowledge and increased cooking confidence compared with baseline, as measured by paired pre- and post-program student surveys.

Project Objective 2

Behavior: By the end of each 3-month cohort, at least 85% of participating students will report increased vegetable intake frequency compared with baseline and increased willingness to try new healthy foods. 

Project Objective 3

Inclusive/Equitable Caregiver Engagement: By the end of each 3-month cohort, deliver culturally responsive take-home resources and caregiver reinforcement strategies such that ≥ 70% of participating families report increased confidence preparing at least one healthy, affordable meal/snack at home, with materials provided in accessible language(s) and aligned to cultural food preferences.  

AAP District

District X

Institutional Name

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Contact 1

Akhshaya Mahalingam, MD