Nutrition is everyone’s business – because everyone eats.
From the very first moments of life to our later years, food connects us. It fuels our cells, shapes our biology, influences how we think and feel, and brings families and communities together. As I’ve written before, nutrition is not simply about what’s on our plates; it is part of a larger nutritional ecology that links food systems, behaviors, biology, and health across the lifespan. When we understand this ecology, we begin to see that nutrition education is not an “extra.” It is foundational.
March is National Nutrition Month® – a time to reflect on the central role nutrition plays in our lives and to recommit ourselves to advancing evidence-based solutions that promote health for all. It feels especially fitting, during this month of awareness, to talk about something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while, and something that resonates even more with me now that I have a daughter in middle school: a concept that I and others have termed Home Ec 2.0.
Many of us remember “home economics” classes as places where students learned to sew or follow a simple recipe. But now, culinary competence is about much more than that. Learning how to cook – how to plan a meal, read a label, handle food and kitchen tools safely, and combine ingredients into something nourishing and delicious – is a life skill. It is empowerment. It is prevention. And it is science in action.
When children learn to cook at an early age, they gain more than a recipe. They gain confidence. They develop familiarity with whole foods. They begin to understand where food comes from and how it affects their bodies. Kitchens are also learning and living laboratories – spaces where we create and narrate the stories of our everyday lives, bond with our family and friends, and connect the art of cooking with our daily sustenance. Learning how to cook early in life can further shape nutrition-related behaviors for years to come. In other words, culinary competence in the kitchen is not just about dinner tonight; it is about health trajectories over decades.
Why does this matter so much?
Because good nutrition supports optimal growth and development during childhood, when bodies and brains are rapidly changing. It strengthens immune function. It fuels concentration and learning. We know that nutrition influences how we grow, think, and feel. Children who are well-nourished are better positioned to achieve academic success and to reach their full potential. Conversely, poor nutrition can undermine cognitive performance and long-term health.
Beyond childhood, the stakes are even higher. Diet-related diseases remain among the leading threats to our nation’s health. Nutrition plays a central role in preventing and managing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. As I have written before, rigorous nutrition science is essential to solving these public health challenges and informing programs and policies that keep Americans healthy. But research alone is not enough. Knowledge must be translated into education as well as experiential learning, and these must begin early.
Primary schools are an ideal place to start. Schools are community hubs. They are where habits form, where curiosity thrives, and where children can learn that food is not something to fear or moralize, but something to understand, manipulate (to make delicious), and enjoy. Teaching kitchens, school gardens, and hands-on nutrition lessons can transform abstract science into lived experience. They also promote equity, ensuring that all children – regardless of background – have access to practical nutrition knowledge.
At the same time, nutrition education cannot stop at the schoolhouse door.
Recently, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Secretary of Education announced the Administration’s commitment to improving nutrition education and training for our future doctors. This is an important step forward, and our office is supporting these efforts with an upcoming Integration of Nutrition Training into Health Care Education Challenge. Physicians and other health care professionals, including nurses and dietitians, are on the front lines of disease prevention and management. They need strong, evidence-based training in nutrition so they can confidently guide patients and families. This can and should begin with nutrition education for our children. Hence the idea of Home Ec 2.0.
As alluded to in our Strategic Plan, the Office of Nutrition Research (ONR) at NIH is fully committed to advancing nutrition education for all. We are working to strengthen the scientific foundation, enhance rigor and reproducibility, and ensure that nutrition science informs training and practice across disciplines. When health care providers understand the biology of nutrition and its role in whole person health, they are better equipped to serve their patients.
Home Ec 2.0 is not about nostalgia. It is about integration. It is about connecting early-life culinary skills with lifelong health. It is about linking classrooms to clinics, kitchens to laboratories, and science to society. It recognizes that empowering a child to cook a healthy meal today may help prevent chronic disease decades from now. It is about appreciating that nutrition education at every level – from primary school to professional training – is an investment in our nation’s future.
As we observe National Nutrition Month®, let us remember that education is one of the most powerful tools we have to shape healthier futures. If nutrition is everyone’s business because everyone eats, then nutrition education is everyone’s responsibility. Together, guided by evidence and empathy, we can reimagine how we teach, learn, and talk about food. And in doing so, we can nourish not only bodies, but opportunity, resilience, and hope.
As always, I welcome comments, feedback, and suggested new directions for nutrition science research. Until next time, please visit the ONR website for updates and consider signing up for ONR Updates to receive future blogs and newsletters.
Nutrition Is Who We Are!
Drew Bremer
March 18, 2026