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.