We are excited for the future Food Literacy Center’s cooking
school, which also serves as Food Literacy Center’s
headquarters. We look forward to providing meaningful programs
that invite the Leataata Floyd community to share this resource.
If you have any questions about the project or Food Literacy
Center, please reach out to info@foodliteracycenter.org.
About Food Literacy Center
1. What is Food Literacy Center?
Food Literacy Center is a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization
with a clear mission: to inspire kids to eat their vegetables.
Food Literacy Center teaches elementary children from low-income
school about cooking and nutrition to improve our health,
environment, and economy.
2. Who does Food Literacy Center currently
serve?
Food Literacy Center currently serves 400 students a week in 8
schools in the
Sacramento area.
3. How is Food Literacy Center funded?
Food Literacy Center is an independent 501c3 nonprofit that
operates with the support
of community donors and grants. We are incredibly thankful to our
donors for making
our programs possible. As Food Literacy Center continues to grow
with the opening of
the cooking school, we hope that your donations grow with us and
allow us to keep
serving the children and families of Sacramento.
4. Why is Food Literacy Center important?
Research shows that only 4% of kids in the U.S. eat enough
veggies. 40% of kids struggle with obesity, and 58% of Sacramento
kids use free/reduced lunch programs. Food Literacy Center is
dedicated to teaching elementary children in low-income school
how to be resilient, including skills like identifying a healthy
veggie, making healthy snacks, and how to cook with a recipe.
Food Literacy Center exposes students to fruits and vegetables
they may have never tried before, giving them the tools to lead a
healthy lifestyle.
5. How can I get involved?
Become a Volunteer
Become a Donor
Become a Sponsor
1. What is the cooking school?
The cooking school is a 5,000 square foot facility that will be
the new headquarters of
Food Literacy Center. This state-of-the-art, green facility will
include a cooking school,
commercial kitchen, training and office space. From the facility,
Food Literacy Center
will operate community programs to benefit the school district
and community.
2. Where is the cooking school located?
The facility is located at Floyd Farms adjacent to Leataata Floyd Elementary.
Along with the cooking school facility, the 2.5-acre Floyd Farms
will also be home to a community garden run by the City of
Sacramento and student gardens managed by Food Literacy Center
staff.
3. Who will the project serve?
The project will serve the 330 elementary school students
enrolled at Leataata Floyd
Elementary and their families, students throughout the district,
and community
members.
4. What services will the cooking school
provide?
Planned services will include:
- FREE afterschool cooking and nutrition programs throughout
the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD)
- FREE cooking programs for Leataata Floyd Elementary students
- FREE gardening programs for Leataata Floyd Elementary
students
- Family night meals
- SCUSD teacher training
- Field trips for SCUSD schools
- Statewide Food Literacy training
5. Why is the cooking school important?
82% of Leataata Floyd students participate in free/reduced lunch
programs and 96% are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Rates of
diet-related disease are high, reflecting the 40% of Sacramento
students who are obese or overweight, and 1 in 3 living with type
2
diabetes. Food Literacy Center programs give these students
access to fresh fruits and
vegetables and educate them on cooking, nutrition, and healthy
options.
Right now, Food Literacy Center has reached capacity to run
programs out of our
current space. In order to provide high-quality services for all
Food Literacy Center
students, we need more space, including cooking classroom and
commercial kitchen.
6. What is the project timeline?
Groundbreaking took place in Fall of 2019, with a projected
opening in Fall of 2021.
Cooking School & Food Literacy Center
1. How is the cooking school funded?
The cooking school is being built through developer fees paid by
The Mill at Broadway.
The school district owns the building and is leasing it to Food
Literacy Center.
2. How are programs funded?
Programs will be delivered by Food Literacy Center thanks to
donations from the community.
Many programs for students will be free, and the quantity will be
based on available funding.
Other programs for field trips, community members, and families
will be provided on a fee basis to cover costs of program
delivery.
3. What is Food Literacy Center’s role in the
project?
Food Literacy Center was chosen for this project by all the
project partners after a multi-year community-wide search. Formal
approval was conducted by the SCUSD Board of Directors in a
unanimous vote.
Food Literacy Center will act as the operating manager of the
cooking school and
gardens and will continue to operate independent of the school
district as a contracted
partner and a 501c3 nonprofit.
Food Literacy Center has been voluntarily participating on the
project for 5 years,
providing pro-bono services and expertise on the design and needs
of the facility.
4. How will the cooking school expand Food Literacy
Center’s programs?
With the new facility, Food Literacy Center staff will be able to
reach more students with a wider variety of services, as
community funding is received.
5. How will cooking school programs integrate with
existing school day instruction?
Food Literacy Center is working closely with the district and
Leataata Floyd Elementary School to ensure all programs meet
educational and social goals that are also in alignment with the
nonprofit’s mission.
For Teachers
1. How can my class participate in a free
program?
Contact
our office to discuss.
2. How will program participation be
determined?
Food Literacy Center develops a budget annually based on funding
commitments. We
use this to determine how many programs we can provide for free
and in how many
schools.
Additional fee-based programs will be considered on a first-come,
first-serve basis.
These are often determined by timing and availability of staff
instructors. We will set
aside a certain amount of time each semester for fee-based
programs, and once slots
are full, we will have a waiting list.
Food Literacy Center will develop a calendar at the start of each
school year and share it with the district so teachers can
contact us to plan ahead.
3. Can I use the gardens without Food Literacy Center
staff present?
Unfortunately, when our offices close, our student gardens will
be closed as well. If you want to schedule a class please
contact our Program Manager.
evelyn@foodliteracycenter.org
Unsupervised use of the garden space will be limited to
non-garden programs, such as
reading or PE, unless a teacher has been trained to properly use
and care for our garden
equipment.
4. Can I use the kitchen classroom without Food Literacy
Center staff present?
No, we will not be leasing our classroom space
5. Will I be able to use the food from the school
garden?
No. The food that’s being grown will be part of our cooking and
gardening curriculum. If there is anything leftover, we will
communicate with teachers interested in offering
tasting education. We can train you to deliver tasting education
from your classroom or
the garden.
6. What programs will we have to pay for?
- Programs for visiting schools, family members, and community
members will likely be fee-based to cover costs.
- Programs delivered to Leataata Floyd Elementary students and
afterschool students in Title 1 schools are generally free and
covered by our donors.
7. I have feedback about a program I participated in. Who
do I talk to?
We love feedback! We cannot improve unless we hear from you, and
we want what’s
best for our students. We operate from a place of learning, just
like our students. You
can talk to any Food Literacy Center staff member to share your
ideas and feedback. We would love your help to make our
programs better!
We will also offer formal opportunities to complete surveys and
participate in meetings
where you can offer your ideas and input. But don’t wait for
those! Share it with us any
time.
8. Who does Food Literacy Center report to?
Food Literacy Center operates as an independent 501c3 nonprofit
and is headed by an
executive director, who oversees daily operations of the
organization. The nonprofit
leases the site from the district and has been contracted as the
project operator by the
district. We partner closely with the Leataata Floyd Elementary
principal, yet have our
own contract at the district level and must meet our own separate
federal and state
requirements. Parts of the project are also overseen by the City
of Sacramento,
specifically the community gardens.
