It starts in the kitchen!

Designed for our youngest participants, Full Plate programming builds the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating by teaching the connection between the food they eat and where it comes from. Lessons focus on building confidence in the kitchen. 

Whenever possible, Full Plate lessons are paired with a farm visit, allowing participants to experience the connection between food to farm while learning about agriculture, cooking, and nutrition.

In a series of three or more lessons, Full Plate:

• Inspires food exploration
• Provides nutrition education
• Teaches skills to prepare a healthy snack

Full Plate serves Kindergarten through 5th grade

Cooks for Health programming provides culinary and nutrition education through cooking classes. Flexible programming runs for six to 14 lessons, depending on the ages of participants. Cooks for Health Family Classes offer the same curriculum and invite a parent or guardian to cook along with participants. 

In all programming, a Chef Educator guides participants through classes as they learn to prepare healthy, plant-based recipes. The Chef Educator emphasizes the role of nutrition in good health and focuses on building participants’ skills, confidence, and food knowledge inside and outside the kitchen. 

The Teen Culinary Apprenticeship prepares 16-18-year-olds to become peer advocates for health and nutrition and provides professional development through food industry-related job opportunities. Apprentices explore food justice and food science as they learn the benefits of plant-forward eating. The apprenticeship runs 16 weeks, with a minimum of 54 hours required to receive school credit. The program culminates with participants serving as paid Teen Chef Instructors at summer camps with a mission to teach youth in their community about healthy food and where it comes from.