Grand Opening Press Release

Food Literacy Center Celebrates Grand Opening at Leataata Floyd Elementary School

New state-of-the-art cooking school and educational facility to serve
Sacramento City Unified School District students, families, and community members

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – August 29, 2022 – After more than seven years in the making, the Food Literacy Center has a new home. The 4,500 square-foot facility at Leataata Floyd Elementary now serves as the headquarters for the nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire kids to eat their vegetables. Located on 2.5 acres, the new Food Literacy Center includes a cooking classroom, commercial kitchen, and student gardens.

“The opening of this cooking school means so much more than health and nutrition education. It means systemic change in a large school district,” said Amber Stott, Founder and Chief Food Genius at Food Literacy Center. “I can’t put into words how much it means to us that Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) saw the value in our food literacy education and decided to invest in the students by building this incredible facility and allowing us to operate it.”

“I’m overwhelmed with joy to see this project come to fruition,” Stott continued. “Food Literacy Center is so passionate about educating the next generation on the importance of health and nutrition, and this new facility gives us the space to expand our programming beyond classroom education and will hopefully serve as a model for other schools in the area.”

The $4.3 million project was funded by SCUSD and will serve about 330 elementary school students that are enrolled at Leataata Floyd Elementary and their families, as well as students throughout the district and community.

“With the Food Literacy Center based right on a SCUSD school campus, I am thrilled that our students will be able to enjoy delicious, healthy food and learn how to prepare nutritious meals. These valuable lessons in nutrition and healthy eating will benefit students throughout their lifetime,” said Christina Pritchett, President, Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education. 

The new state-of-the-art facility offers programs and amenities including:

• A cooking school with kid-friendly appliances and tools to teach students how to cook healthy meals
• A kitchen for Food Literacy Center staff and volunteers to prep for after-school programs across the district, with a special focus on Title 1 schools
• A training space for Food Literacy Center staff to train future instructors and manage day-to-day operations
• Community programs, including family cooking classes, and school field trips

“SCUSD is proud of this multi-partner project with Food Literacy Center and the City of Sacramento, which will benefit the students of Leataata Floyd Elementary and other Title 1 schools in the district,” said Lisa Murawski, 1st Vice President, Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education. “This community resource demonstrates the school district’s commitment to student health and the power of hands-on learning.”

“For Sac City Unified, this is an investment in Leataata Floyd students and the entire community. The Food Literacy Center is going to have the impact of helping families lead healthier lifestyles,” said Jorge A. Aguilar, Superintendent, Sacramento City Unified School District. “By teaching students how to grow, prepare, and enjoy fresh, local and seasonal produce we can begin to reduce childhood obesity and many of the health problems associated with it.”

This project was made possible by SCUSD, the City of Sacramento, and Northwest Land Park, LLC. In January 2016, SCUSD approved the Food Literacy Center to operate the new development with the intention that the excess land would be used to educate students, their parents, and the larger community about how sustainable gardening provides health and nutrition benefits while improving the health and diets of students. In December 2018, the City of Sacramento and SCUSD entered into the Leataata Floyd Elementary School Farm and Community Garden Project Agreement that allows the City of Sacramento to use excess land at the school to develop the space for the benefit of the residents in the area, including the students at Leataata Floyd and their families.

“It has been an incredible joy to see the growth and leadership of the Food Literacy Center in our community. I had the honor of being one of the first ‘Food Geniuses’ certified by the Center, so I know firsthand how effective their training can be,” said Katie Valenzuela, Sacramento Councilmember, District 4. “To see them taking this next step – in such a deserving community – is so exciting, and I cannot wait to see the positive impact they will have on the Leataata Floyd Elementary students and their families.”

To commemorate the grand opening, the Food Literacy Center is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 1, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. which is sponsored in part by Kaiser Permanente.

“We are proud to support the Food Literacy Center in advancing our shared goal of reducing childhood obesity and improving healthy eating habits among children in our community,” said Jay Robinson, Senior Vice President, Area Manager Kaiser Permanente Sacramento, South Sacramento. “Partnerships like these, which show children how eating nutritious foods can be fun, are key to helping families in our communities lead healthy lives.”

Tickets to the ribbon cutting are available for purchase for $100.

At the outdoor event, guests can expect:

• Tours of the new cooking school
• Bites and sips from top local chefs
• Planting activity with students
• Live music
• Dignitaries and ceremonial ribbon cutting

ABOUT FOOD LITERACY CENTER
Food Literacy Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) established in 2011 in Sacramento, California, with the mission of inspiring kids to eat their vegetables. The organization provides cooking and nutrition education to children in low-income elementary schools throughout the Sacramento City Unified School District to improve health, economy and the environment.

ABOUT SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sacramento City Unified School District is one of the oldest K-12 districts in the western United States (established in 1854). SCUSD’s students reflect the rich diversity that is the hallmark of Sacramento’s central city. Our student population is 40 percent Hispanic or Latino; 17 percent Asian; 14 percent African American; and 18 percent white. About 7 percent of students are of two or more races or ethnicities. Residents within SCUSD speak more than 51 languages. The District’s core value is recognizing that our system is inequitable by design. SCUSD vigilantly works to confront and interrupt inequities that exist to level the playing field and provide opportunities for everyone to learn, grow, and reach their greatness. 

Blackberry Backflips to our presenting sponsor Clover Sonoma! Special tangerine thank you to our Ribbon Cutting sponsor Kaiser Permanente, California Rice Commission, Dignity Health, KMK Designs,  Downtown Railyard Venture, Sacramento County, Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, District 2, and First Northern Bank for helping us inspire the next generation of healthy kids!