County 4-H Favorite Foods Day
Santa Clara County
4-H Favorite Foods Day 2024
Registration is now open!
Let’s get cooking
Mark your calendars for
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Additional activities planned for the day
will include a judging contest,
skill-a-thon, and People's Choice voting.
In order to ensure success, please review the
If you have any questions, please contact the Favorite Foods Day Coordinator, Colleen Alger at april.aaron@sbcglobal.net
Favorite Foods Day is an annual county-wide event held to provide a “Learn by doing” educational experience for 4-H youth members. Emphasis for this event is on meal preparation, nutritional knowledge, menu planning, food safety, table setting, and Favorite Food item. Members should make a product suitable for their age. Advanced members are expected to prepare foods that take extra time, preparation, and skills. All Novice, Beginner, Junior, and Senior entries are judged on a Danish System. This allows for each entrant to be judged independently according to the Judging Guidelines that have been provided. Hence, there may be more than one entry scored as first place and so on. Additionally, the top-scoring entries will receive bonus prizes. Clovers will be evaluated and receive participation recognition and a prize. Clovers (age 5-8) do not receive place rankings. Participating in Favorite Foods Day is free of charge to all current 4-H members.
Categories and Age Divisions:
All participants ages 9 to 18 may choose: Salad, Dessert, my plate, main dish or Healthy Substitution Examples of Healthy Food Substitutions
My Plate Returning Members ages 9-19 May select one of the above or a One Dish Meal (soup, stew, Crockpot meal) Should include 3 of the 5 categories from the My Plate Guidelines.
Age Divisions: There are five (5) age divisions for the event. This allows members to compete with others in the same age range or experience level. Enter the age division that corresponds to your age as of December 31 of the current 4-H program year.
The age divisions are as follows:
Clovers 5 – 8 Years (Non-Competitive)
Beginner 9 – 10 Years
Junior 11 – 13 Years
Novice 11 and older, and have not participated in Favorite Foods Day before
Senior 14 Years and older
Resources:
Favorite Food Day Menu: What should be included in my menu?
Recipe Guidelines What should be included in my recipe card?
Table Setting: How do I make my table setting?
Place Setting Examples What should be included?
My Plate Guidelines What is a My Plate entry?
Knowledge: Judges will quiz members on their knowledge of food safety, measurements, nutrition, and food preparation for all items on their menu. Know where your Favorite Food fits in the “My Plate Guidelines”.
Showmanship: This is a showmanship event. Cleanliness and dress appropriate to food service are important. Hair should be neat and out of the member’s face. Wearing a 4-H uniform is optional. A costume or outfit related to the menu is also appropriate. For example, formal dress clothes may be worn for a fancy dinner menu; or for an international dish – the clothing of that culture.