DIABETES IS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IN THE UNITED STATES. PROVEN EDUCATION AND SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE EFFECTIVE AT PREVENTING AND CONTROLLING THE DISEASE, YET MANY PEOPLE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM THESE PROGRAMS DO NOT PARTICIPATE. TO HELP ADDRESS THIS GAP, UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION PROPOSES TO ADAPT, IMPLEMENT, AND TEST THE UTAH DIABETES COOK ALONG CURRICULUM SO IT CAN BE EFFECTIVELY DELIVERED IN A BROADER RANGE OF UTAH COMMUNITIES.THE PROJECT HAS TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES. FIRST, IT WILL REFINE THE CURRICULUM TO ENSURE IT IS RELEVANT, ENGAGING, AND APPLICABLE IN VARIED LOCAL CONTEXTS, USING INPUT FROM COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO GUIDE IMPROVEMENTS. SECOND, IT WILL EVALUATE THE CURRICULUM'S EFFECTIVENESS IN IMPROVING HEMOGLOBIN A1C (A 3-MONTH AVERAGE OF BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS, A MARKER OF DIABETES MANAGEMENT), DIETARY PATTERNS AND RELATED HEALTH BEHAVIORS THROUGH A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE THE CREATION AND FREE DISSEMINATION OF UPDATED CURRICULA AND LEARNING MATERIALS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE NEW EVIDENCETO INFORM PRACTICE BY COMPARING THE OUTCOMES AND COSTS OF TWO METHODS OF TAILORING CURRICULUM FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY NEEDS. IN ADDITION, ACTIVITIES WILL SUPPORT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MENTORING AND TRAINING, AND STRENGTHEN EXTENSION'S CAPACITY TO DELIVER RELEVANT PROGRAMMING ACROSS DISCIPLINES. OVERALL, THE PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE EATING PATTERNS, SUPPORT HEALTHY BEHAVIORS, AND BUILD COMMUNITY CAPACITY TO PREVENT AND MANAGE DIABETES STATEWIDE.