Cooking Classes

FARM 2 SCHOOL HANDS ON COOKING CLASSES

Seasonal FEATURE FOODS:

AUGUST Tomatoes

SEPTEMBER Apples

OCTOBER Pumpkins

NOVEMBER Broccoli

DECEMBER Salad

JANUARY Honey

FEBRUARY Bison

MARCH Milk & Cheese

APRIL Spinach

MAY Strawberries

FOOD IS ELEMENTARY™ CURRICULUM©
Antonia Demas, PHD

 

Curriculum Rationale:

It is important that children learn about healthy eating patterns at an early age so that they can protect their health through diet as they grow older. Poor eating habits established in young children lead to increased incidence of chronic diseases such as heart disease, many of the cancers, and diabetes.

Inadequate nutrition can also prevent children from learning effectively. In all of the schools where the Food is Elementary™ curriculum has been adapted, teachers sought to improve children’s health and educational performance by acquainting them with delicious, healthy, whole foods, which are consumed both in the school meal program and, ultimately, at home. Children can also be catalysts for change in their families.

Despite real success in feeding hungry children, typical school lunches subsidized by the National School Lunch Plan do not meet USDA dietary guidelines. Many of the commodity foods served in typical school lunches are higher in fat, contain excessive salt, and have a lower fiber content then their whole food counterparts, because they are animal based rather than plant based.

Bistro Kids Farm 2 School lunch program uses locally sourced plant based whole foods that do not contain cholesterol and are low in fat. Foods prepared in the Bistro Kids program offer a healthy alternative to the National School Lunch Plan. The Food is Elementary™ curriculum offers program tested recipes which meet or exceed USDA guidelines for nutrient content. The curriculum also offers the means to gain student acceptance for trying new foods. Students that have been acquainted with these foods in the classrooms, select and eat these healthy foods in the cafeteria.

Key Concepts:

• Engaging all the senses
• Cooking cooperatively with peers
• Educational literature
• Introduction of new cultures
• Acceptance of healthier foods through developmental learning

Implementation:

• Increase interdisciplinary learning so students make connections between science (garden), math (conversions), and social sciences (cross cultural knowledge)
• Improve problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making abilities
• Foster cooperative learning and peer education
• Understanding of biology and life cycles of plants via school garden
• Encourage creativity and curiosity
• Develop social skills and raise self esteem

Secondary Results:

• Development of language arts skills
• Cooking as a life skill
• Parental involvement in education through cooking
• Promotion of school - community relationships

All hands on cooking classes and Fun Friday demos are taught by a Bistro Kids Cooking Class Instructor Food is Elementary™ training certified