Snacking is Good for Children

Children need to refuel their bodies more than three times daily because they have smaller stomachs than adults.*

It's important that snacks be healthy and taste good, so that kids are excited to find snacks in their backpack or lunchbox or on the kitchen counter.

3rd, 4th & 5th grade students experience tasty and healthy snacks with the Take a Taste with Spoons, The Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat Healthy Program. The children learned about the elements of taste, made healthy snacks from locally grown, seasonal foods, sampled them and took a recipe home to share with their families.

Spoons Across America is a grassroots 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization that mobilizes hundreds of teachers and food professionals to educate children, families and teachers about the benefits of healthy eating.

How can we make a difference? With your financial support, we can continue to expand our programming around the country to educate children about the importance and benefits of healthy eating.

By making a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more you can support our healthy eating programs. For a gift of $100…Ten 5th graders will explore local seasonal foods and learn to make healthy snacks.

Thank you! Julia V. Jordan, Founder
Spoons Across America

* University of Wisconsin - Extension 2009

To donate to Spoons Across America through NYCharities, go to: http://www.nycharities.org/donate/c_donate.asp?CharityCode=2322

Buckets & Buckets...of Apples!

The time of year when leaves begin to change color, the air gets a crisp feeling and the type of fruits and vegetables available in the market has arrived. With fall comes so much new and exciting produce…so it’s time to get tasting, cooking, exploring and picking. Here at Spoons, one of our favorite fall activities is taking a trip to a local Greenmarket to pick some fresh, locally grown apples.

Did you know that apples are a healthy source of antioxidants, which help to keep our bodies strong and healthy by protecting us against free radical damage? We learned that fact from The U.S. Apple Association (http://www.usapples.org). That’s just one of the many reasons why the Spoons Team will be loading up on apples this fall season.

Find your closest Greenmarket to get all sorts of fresh, local tasty produce by checking out the Greenmarket 2009 Map by following this link: http://www.cenyc.org/files/gmkt/map.pdf. For readers able to make it to an apple orchard this season...Happy Picking from The Spoons Team!
-- Marva Butler & Alix Small


P.S. Stay tuned for blogs including delicious fall produce recipes and clever food ideas!

The Obama & Bloomberg Duet…Marva and Alix are the Backup Singers

Spoons Across America welcomed two full-time AmeriCorps VISTA/ NYC Civic Corps volunteers: Ms. Marva Butler and Ms. Alix Small on August 10^th, 2009. These two women came to Spoons as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s response to President Obama’s call for National Service. Marva will be working on grants and fundraising, and Alix will be focusing on volunteers and volunteer management. This VISTA team will build Spoons capacity by putting systems into place and developing sustainable practices by driving volunteer activity. These VISTA members will be working in partnership with the board, our Spoons consultants and Spoons volunteers, so everyone will have an opportunity to get to know them and become more involved in the projects!\

Marva hails from Houston, Texas and this past May earned her MBA from Florida A&M University. Some of her hobbies include reading, traveling, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. One of her most exciting past internships includes working with The International Rescue Committee in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she provided program and logistical support for three refuge camps. Marva hopes to use her strong business and marketing/fundraising background to successfully build sustainability.

Alix is a native New Yorker, hailing from Long Island. This past May she earned a B.S. from Binghamton University in Psychobiology. Alix enjoys spending time outside, cooking, entertaining her family and friends and staying active. This past year she completed a year long internship with a Gastroenterologist in Binghamton, NY where she conducted two research projects focused on nutritional aspects of a gastrointestinal disease. Alix is not only passionate about nutrition, but also about the SPOONS mission. She has great hopes to increase volunteer activity while serving as a VISTA for SPOONS

Here is a link to the Press Release and a link for the video of the Swearing in Ceremony on the steps of City Hall on July 30^th, 2009: http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2009b%2Fpr354-09.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

Spoons Across America Board Member, Lynda Dias, shares her thoughts on working with students and partners on our projects:

Being part of the Spoons Across America team has been an incredible experience for me. I am constantly inspired and touched by all of the amazing children across the country who we educate about the benefits of healthy eating. With their teachers, family and friends, they experience fun and exciting programs while learning about nutrition and developing healthy relationships with food.

In New York, I have the privilege of collaborating with Chef Feliberto Estevez and his dedicated team at Gracie Mansion to implement Spoons Across America programs in Washington Heights at Juan Pablo Duarte School PS 132 . One of our most exciting programs is the Dinner Party Project. The children are taught about nutrition, food safety, meal planning, table setting, etiquette, cooking and even dancing. Our partners, City Tech, Pearson Foundation, Dancing Classrooms and the UBS Events Marketing team have worked closely with us and the PS 132 teachers to create unique learning opportunities and life-long memories for the children. On the night of the Dinner Party there is magic in the air. The children become the perfect hosts and proudly share with their guests their menu and how much work went into creating their Dinner Party. Their guests are amazed and I am often pulled aside only to be thanked because their child is setting the table, eating salad and now wants to try new foods!

None of us wanted the magical night to end!

As you know children not only inspire us, but often challenge us to do the incredible. The amazing children at PS 132 collected 50,000 pennies and chose Spoons Across America as the recipient of their donation to ensure that children in New York City were able to participate in the Spoons Across America Programs. The children’s inspiring gift challenged us to raise $50,000 for 50,000 pennies to deliver Spoons Across America’s food and nutrition literacy programs in New York City. I encourage you to support the children at PS 132 and make the incredible happen.

Food Memories: Ali Weisman, Director of Education for Spoons Across America, shares her memories of the kitchen and the farmers market

It has been such fun for me to create programs for students that introduce them to where food comes from and gives them to opportunity to really experience what food tastes likes, smells like and looks like. Encouraging families to cook together and to eat together is so important, and talking with parents who have started to spend time with their kids in the kitchen has been such a joy.

As a child I grew up in the kitchen with both my mother and my father. I remember my mom making her chicken with honey and soy sauce glaze for many a weeknight meal. My sisters and I have even adopted this into our own cooking repertoires. And now, my 13-year-old nephew makes it as well! My dad was into making soufflés (chocolate, cheese) and I couldn’t quite understand why we had to be quiet while it was in the oven. Until I wasn’t so quiet…. and it fell… I think it still tasted pretty good, though.

My memories of food and cooking are also linked with my experiences growing up in the summer on Martha’s Vineyard Island. Every Saturday, we would take our farmers market Basket and head 5 miles up the road to the West Tisbury Farmers Market. (This was before it was chic to be eco-conscious. We just felt country-ish with the basket!) From the local farmers and vendors we would buy beautiful ripe tomatoes, sweet corn, tiny potatoes and flowers to decorate our table. Sometimes even a peach or strawberry rhubarb pie made its way as well. Many of these same farmers are still selling their riches at the market which continues to thrive today and we love running into friends and family, greeting new puppies and babies, and enjoying the bluegrass music that often wafts from a tent along the way.

Spoons Across America provides programs that educate children about food and nutrition literacy. But we also provide opportunities for students to develop lasting food memories. Wonderful memories about cooking with friends and family, meetings farmers at the Greenmarket, tasting fruits and vegetables they have never had before, and liking them!

What’s your favorite food memory? Comment below and we’ll post them next week.

***** We need your help to implement our programs next year. Please consider donating to the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign so we can provide more cooking, tasting, and healthy eating programs for children in New York City. Our programs also give students the opportunity to explore a range of tastes and flavors, cook with their friends and families and explore the farmers market.

A message from Chef Bobo, Executive Chef and Director of Food Service at The Calhoun School in New York City.

Have you ever noticed how people tend to gather in the kitchen whenever there is a party? It’s because the kitchen is the heart and soul of the home. There is something magical about a kitchen filled with delicious aromas, laughter and music. It is where the rituals of family are centered. So when you are ready to prepare your dinner turn on the music, throw on some aprons and get cooking with the whole family! Doing it all together--- whether it’s peeling, chopping, stirring, cooking, serving and even cleaning – makes it teaches kids early in their lives the importance of preparing food at home, together as a family.

Food is like language. If you learn about it and understand it while young it’s just easier and more natural to do.

Don’t be afraid to introduce your kids to unfamiliar flavors. Sometimes the unfamiliar promotes a sense of adventure and intrigue for kids. My mantra is “food should be fresh, all natural, have bold flavors, balance and variety and be made from scratch”. Kids will like healthy food if it tastes good. Some parents think that cooking will take longer if kids are involved. It may be, but isn’t it worth it? I strongly believe that when a family cooks together the food is made with love. And putting love in food is the most important ingredient – and the healthiest!

To me, simple doesn’t mean boring. It can be creative and profoundly satisfying. You don’t need exotic, hard-to-find ingredients. Once you understand the basic cooking principles that they teach, you’ll find that they can be used to make other dishes using the same techniques.

Have fun! Make dinner a party at your place and invite the whole family to prepare it! There’s no need for a special occasion. Don’t forget that the fun in cleaning up afterwards is also in doing it all together. So enjoy and Bon Appetit!

We are proud to have Chef Bobo as a member of the National Advisory Board for Spoons Across America and thank him for allowing us to share one of his recipes (see recipe section on right).

***** We need your help to implement our programs next year. Please consider donating to the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign so we can provide more cooking, tasting, and healthy eating programs for children in New York City. Our programs also give students the opportunity to explore a range of tastes and flavors, cook with their friends and families and explore the farmers market.

A message from Julia Jordan, Founder and President, Spoons Across America:

In 1999 we founded Spoons Across America® on the premise that it is essential to the health of our children and our society to bring the joys of the table to the children of America. The table is where children learn about conversation, consideration, tolerance and other tools for getting along in society. When activities are centered around healthful food, children experience a fun and exciting way to learn about nutrition. We believe in igniting children's natural curiosity for learning by letting them see, feel, smell and taste fresh, healthy food. By exposing them to fruits and vegetables in the greenmarket and on the farm, introducing them to fresh, seasonal ingredients in the kitchen, and encouraging them to dig in with their families and friends at the dinner table, we change the way kids think about food, family and themselves. I encourage you to join me in supporting the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign so that we can continue to educate children, teachers and their families about the benefits of the benefits of good nutrition, healthful eating, and passing along the important traditions of supporting local farmers and sharing meals around the family table.

The Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign will support food and nutrition education programs that teach students about the benefits of eating fresh, seasonal and locally grown food. Our programs also give students the opportunity to explore a range of tastes and flavors, cook with their friends and families and explore the farmers market.

We need your help to implement our programs next year. Please consider donating to the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign so we can provide more cooking, tasting, and healthy eating programs for children in New York City.

Food Independence Day

Food Independence Day

Shared via AddThis

A message from Martha Bear Dallis, Executive Director, Spoons Across America:

We are so excited to launch the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign , a summer FUNdraising campaign for Spoons Across America. As I write this, my local farmers market is filling up with healthy and local produce that we associate with summer, such as radishes, sweet peas, asparagus and of course, strawberries. My family looks forward to the arrival of rhubarb in the market. I bake one of our Bear Dallis family’s favorites, Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler with fresh strawberries and rhubarb! Your community greenmarket is a fantastic place to get a taste of the bounty that the season has to offer.

The Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign will support food and nutrition education programs that teach students about the benefits of eating fresh, seasonal and locally grown food. Our programs also give students the opportunity to explore a range of tastes and flavors, cook with their friends and families and explore the farmers market.

We need your help to implement our programs next year. Please consider donating to the Spoons Pennies to Programs Campaign so we can provide more cooking, tasting, and healthy eating programs for children in New York City.

PENNIES to PROGRAMS Campaign 2009

New York City public school elementary students from PS 132 in Washington Heights collected over 50,000 pennies. They donated this money to Spoons Across America.

DONATE YOUR DOLLARS TO MATCH THEIR PENNIES!

Our goal is to raise $50,000 for 50,000 pennies to support Spoons Across America’s food and nutrition literacy programs in New York City. The money raised during this 5 week SUMMER FUNdraiser will allow us to continue our necessary work in 20 NYC public schools across all 5 boroughs. Every dollar donated will go directly to fund our work educating 5,000 children, their teachers and their families about the benefits of healthy eating.

Invest in a child’s education today --- Promote a healthy tomorrow.

Donate Today!

Go To:
http://www.nycharities.org/donate/charitydonate.asp?ID=2322

Help us to multiply the reach of our grassroots campaign. Forward this blog to at least of 10 of your friends and family.