D1.272 - Improving Culinary Medicine and Food Allergy Knowledge Through a STEM-Integrated Medical-Student-Led Cooking Program for Youth in New Orleans

Food allergy affects an estimated 8-10% of children in the United States and represents a growing public health concern with implications for safety, quality of life, and health equity. Despite its prevalence, limited data exist on baseline food allergy knowledge among children, particularly in community and school-based settings. Early nutrition and food allergy education that integrates science and hands-on learning may improve health literacy and food safety awareness. Culinary medicine programs that combine STEM education with cooking activities offer a promising, yet under-studied, approach to improving food and allergy knowledge. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a medical student-led culinary medicine education program delivered to youth in New Orleans.

A structured STEM-integrated culinary medicine program was delivered across six classes conducted between Fall 2024 and Fall 2025. A total of 111 children participated, with a mean age of 9.72 years. Participants completed pre- and post-class assessments designed to evaluate culinary medicine and food allergy knowledge. Outcome measures included a 9-item Top Allergen Knowledge assessment and a 6-question multiple-choice food allergy questionnaire. Pre- and post-intervention scores were compared using paired statistical analyses.

 All pre- and post-class assessments demonstrated statistically significant improvements. Mean Top Allergen Knowledge scores increased from 1.50 out of 9 (16.7%) pre-class to 5.27 out of 9 (58.6%) post-class, representing a 251% relative increase (p < 0.0001). Scores on the 6-question food allergy multiple-choice assessment improved from a mean of 4.10 out of 6 (68.3%) pre-class to 4.94 out of 6 (82.3%), corresponding to a 20.5% relative increase (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that children possess limited baseline food allergy knowledge despite the high prevalence of food allergy in pediatric populations. A community-based culinary medicine program that integrates STEM education with experiential cooking activities is effective in addressing these knowledge gaps. Such programs may represent scalable, preventive educational strategies to improve food allergy awareness, nutrition literacy, and food safety preparedness in youth communities.