Extension program beefing up Friday learning

Meranda Small measures the success of her Cooking Beef with Kids program one bite at a time.

Small, an Extension educator specializing in livestock production and 4-H in Idaho County, started Cooking Beef with Kids in January 2026 through the Grangeville Kids Klub, which provides after-school programming and Friday care when the district is not in session. She recently expanded the program to Orofino, where students also have a four-day school week and rely on an Extension-run Friday learning program.

Small teaches basic lessons in cooking, beef nutrition and the Idaho cattle industry. Children ages 6 to 12 prepare their own meals using simple recipes and are required to try at least one bite of everything they make.

“They’re so adamant when they come in that they know what they do and they don’t like,” Small said. “To hear them tell me, ‘I don’t like that,’ and me to say, ‘Well, you’re going to try a bite,’ and then they enjoy the entire plate and come up later and say, ‘That was actually really good,’ that’s a huge win.”

During the current school year, Small is offering one class per month, alternating between Grangeville and Orofino for a total of five classes at each location. Participation ranges from 15 to 20 children in Grangeville and eight to 10 in Orofino.

Each participant receives a “Pasture to Plate” coloring book and the Idaho Beef Council's “Cooking Beef with Kids” booklet, which includes simple recipes, nutrition information and facts about cattle production. Children learn that beef is nutrient-dense, containing many vitamins and minerals, and that a 3-ounce serving of beef contains about 25 grams of protein. They also learn how cattle convert grass and other forages into beef for human consumption.

Working in groups, the children prepare simple, ground-beef meals such as tacos, English muffin pizzas and spaghetti with meatballs. They use electric skillets and plastic, child-safe knives. Parents were invited to attend a class in which participants cooked hamburgers. Small chose recipes from the Idaho Beef Council booklet, along with dishes popular with her own children.

One lesson featuring taco-stuffed peppers helped expand students’ tastes.

“It was neat to see several kids tell me, ‘I don’t like peppers. I’m just going to eat the filling,’” Small said. “But they ate the whole thing.”

An anonymous donor provides the beef used in the Grangeville program. Extension leaders in Clearwater County are also seeking donations to support Cooking Beef with Kids in Orofino.

Small serves as one of two Beef Quality Assurance state coordinators in Idaho, providing training and certification that promote management practices supporting beef quality. Beyond teaching cooking and nutrition, she hopes to help young people understand the importance of the beef industry to Idaho’s economy and communities. She conducts exit surveys to measure what participants learn through the program.

“We have become a beef production state,” Small said. “Even if you are not involved in the beef industry, as a citizen of Idaho, you are benefiting from the beef industry in some way, shape or form, so it’s important that it continues to thrive.”