Talking about the importance of good nutrition might be helpful, but actually introducing families to tasty, good-for-you food is likely to make a bigger impact.

Throwing in some cool kitchen gear for kids can’t hurt either.

That was the thinking behind a nutrition education program that Elizabeth Lewis, M.D., clinical assistant professor for KU Wichita Pediatrics, and Krista Weaver, APRN, FNP-C, nurse practitioner with the KU Wichita Medical Practice Association, developed for the Haysville School District using a Hunger Free Kansas grant from the Kansas Leadership Center.

“We originally were just going to do some education in the clinic and maybe counseling, but in July of last year we went to the Kansas Leadership Center’s Hunger Free Kansas strategy lab,” Lewis said. “We kind of redirected ours to do more of a food challenge with families in our clinic.”

Haysville’s school-based health clinic is a partnership of the school district, KU Wichita Pediatrics and KU Wichita Medical Practice Association. Lewis and Weaver are two of the clinicians in the clinic, which is located in Freeman Elementary School. The clinic provides a wide variety of primary care, urgent care and psychology services. 

Kari Harris, M.D., KU Wichita Pediatrics and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences professor and program director of the school-based health care clinic, applied for the KLC grant based on the district’s demographics; 58% of the student body qualify for free or reduced lunches. “There are definitely some families that likely struggle with food insecurity,” Lewis said. And that often means more reliance on quick, inexpensive and highly processed foods. “If a single parent is working, it’s harder to access” more nutritious options.

The Haysville grant was one of 87 mini-grants of up to $5,000 that KLC made in 2025 for efforts designed to improve food access and nutrition, as part of the Hunger Free Kansas initiative. Weaver advertised the program through the clinic and the school district’s social media platforms. 

Twenty-two families of Haysville students signed up. Students were given cutting boards, aprons and chef’s hats. Each week, families were given a recipe to try and a basket or bag of food sufficient to make servings for all members. One recipe was for a yogurt parfait topped with fresh fruit. Another was for a “Food Group Friend” — a rice cake that kids could top with peanut butter, bananas, string cheese and other ingredients. “They could make a funny face on their rice cake” with the various ingredients, Weaver said. They also made “Friendship Pockets,” which were pita pockets filled with ham and vegetables, and “Crunchy Rainbow Wraps,” tortillas filled with cream cheese, bell peppers and other vegetables.

“They were very basic,” Lewis said. “You didn’t have to have a refrigerator or stovetop. Something that was easy and kid-friendly.”

Some of the produce was donated by the nearby Cox Farm store in south Wichita. 

About half the families participated consistently. Six families that completed all four weeks of the program — including taking photographs of the prepared recipes — will receive a prize, Lewis said.

Lewis and Weaver haven’t done a formal follow-up survey but believe the program had some effect.

“I did hear from some parents that a lot of the kids at least tried something they would not have eaten in normal everyday life,” Weaver said. Parents also said that they chose to participate because they thought it would be fun to do something healthy as a family. Other feedback was that the kids “had a lot of fun participating. They got to do all the cutting and chopping and all of that.”

And they may get to put those skills to use again, since a bit of the grant money is left, Weaver said.

“We’re hoping and anticipating maybe doing a similar event on a smaller scale, like a summertime event where they can make something fun.”