The average parent of today runs from work to pick up their child from school or home to take him/ her to baseball, soccer, piano lessons or some other after school activity. This lifestyle has become a bonanza for the fast food industry, and more recent estimates show that in 2001, there were about 222,000 fast-food locations in the United States, generating sales of more than $125 billion ¹(Pennington Biomedical Research Center 2003). Fast food is a growing component of the American diet, and the frequency of fast-food use has increased dramatically since the early 1970s ²(Pennington Biomedical Research Center 2003). Despite increasing demands on time and the tendency to use fast food restaurants, a recently published study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that eight out of ten households regularly prepare dinners at home and are seeking new ways of making meals less complex and more healthy.

Within the five-county area around St. Lucie County, there are at least 25 small farmers with conventional or organic greenhouse or field production of vegetable crops. One of the most common requests received by Cooperative Extension personnel from these small farmers is assistance with marketing and marketing strategies.

With consumer hunger for preparing nutritious meals on the zip, a culinary television show has been produced to help balance growers’ needs for marketing. With a "Fresh from Florida" theme, the show demonstrated how to prepare nutritious meals utilizing local produce in 20 to 30 minutes. The show was created through the concerted efforts of the St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension, and the St. Lucie County School Board. A Win-Win collaboration!

In an initial meeting between the two entities, a middle school with cooking facilities was identified as the site for the cooking show. At this facility six kitchen areas were available to prepare dinners. The kitchens contained a stove, a refrigerator, sink and counter space with ample room for preparation and cooking. At this meeting, it was also determined that a high school culinary instructor would be ideal for preparing the dishes in front of the camera. The chef gladly agreed to the six-part cooking series, adding that he would like to involve his culinary students; enabling them to showcase their talents on public television.

In the first five minutes of the show, an explanation of why local produce should be purchased was offered and then each grower was individually thanked for providing that day’s items. The chef was then introduced and began to prepare the day’s menu. As the chef and his students moved through each dish they carefully explained every cooking step. A crowd of over twenty teachers was invited to participate in the show and observed the chef as he prepared the various culinary selections. As the chef cooked, the teachers carefully surveyed each of his moves taking notes along the way. When the chef completed the dishes, the teachers split into groups of four and attempted to duplicate the chef’s recipes in the kitchens provided for them. As the groups prepared the meals, the culinary arts chef and his students ventured from kitchen to kitchen offering cooking advise on meal preparation. When the four groups completed each meal, the teachers sat down at a white clothed table and tasted their fruits of their labor. From the time they entered their kitchens, to the time they sat down for their nutritious dinner … thirty minutes! You could spend that much time waiting in a fast food line.

During the entire process the events were filmed and then taken back to the station and edited into a thirty-minute show. The show would then air at the same time each week and would be followed by two other half hour shows relating to Florida agriculture.

According to the culinary arts teacher, Chef Calvin Lewis, preparing meals at home doesn't have to take all day. "With diligence and planning," healthy, nutritious meals can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.