Food Literacy Blog

September is Food Literacy Month and we are celebrating by raising awareness and funds to empower kids to make healthy choices! We are joined by an incredible line-up of Food Literati Leaders and sponsors that are fundraising in September. See our Food Literacy Month campaign update HERE. 

Follow the links for each team below to contribute to their fundraising campaign. 

School lunch wins Veggie of the Year for a third time in row! 

To celebrate Food Literacy Month in California we raise statewide awareness about the need for cooking and nutrition education for kids. 

Food Literacy Month is kicked off by our annual Veggie of the Year competition, in which 5 notable local chefs create a tasty, veggie-forward bite featuring their assigned veggie. This year our participating chefs and assigned veggies were:

When Syrai was in 5th grade in 2011, she had her first persimmon. She loved it! 

This was also the year that I started Food Literacy Center. Syrai was attending Capitol Heights Academy elementary school in Oak Park. Syrai was among the first students to participate, and I was their instructor.

It was watermelon wonderful to see our students at our Kids Spring Farmers Market on May 26th! 600 pounds of fresh fruits and veggies from local farms went home with 240 kids and family members at Woodbine Elementary School. Special thanks to Nugget Markets for their support. 

Through your generous donations yesterday, you helped us raise $36,086 to support students facing food and nutrition insecurity. Your gifts speak to the priorities of our community. Thank you for putting our kids’ health at the top of your list.

Did you know that rates of hunger increased more this year than any year since the government began tracking poverty? For households with children, food insecurity tripled!  

Our students and their families need Food Literacy Center, and we need YOU. On Big Day of Giving, please donate. It truly helps.

The Healthy Eating on Franklin Blvd pilot project aims to improve residents’ health in Franklin Blvd District by educating restaurant owners and community members and training them to advocate for healthy food in their community.

Looking for a new recipe this holiday season? We’ve rounded up our favorite fall and winter dishes featuring the best farmers market produce available right now. The recipes below have video tutorials so you can follow along. Our recipes are written for kids to make, so get your family together and let’s get cooking!

At Food Literacy Center, we have a reputation for spreading joy. We do this with great intention. Research shows that joy builds resilience. 

This Food Literacy Month, we invite you to share in our joy! Times are hard for everyone right now, and we could all use a little joy. Joy is actually good for your health!–almost as good as broccoli! 

Since schools shut down due to COVID-19, we have been providing our curriculum and cooking lessons online and distributing at-home cooking kits for our former afterschool students. This summer, we continue to provide Veggie Recipe Kits to students at the schools we serve so they can cook a healthy meal for their family and practice their food literacy skills at home. These students are food and nutrition insecure.

Now, more than ever, it is vital that we teach our children about embracing racial diversity. To create a lasting anti-racist shift in our society, we must plant seeds of empathy and inclusivity early and often. If you’re not sure how to have these important conversations with your children, here are some helpful resources to get you started today.

Our Kids Spring Farmers Market looked a little different this year, but the goal was the same–set up our students to practice food literacy at home. Our kids went home with an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables thanks to Nugget Markets.

Our community has spoken. Through your generous donations yesterday on Big Day of Giving, you helped us raise $33,333 to support students facing food and nutrition insecurity. Your gifts speak to the priorities of our community. Thank you for putting our kids’ health at the top of your list.

This week Food Literacy Center hosted the Kids Holiday Farmers Market sponsored by Nugget Markets. We sent 140 students home over winter break with 1,288 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables so they can continue practicing the healthy habits they learn in food literacy class.

It’s Giving Tuesday! We have Black Friday, Cyber Monday… and now Giving Tuesday: a day to focus on giving back.

Help us fund 16 kids before midnight. Please give.