How Spoons Across America is Influencing Eating Habits of Children and Families

Our programs educate children and families about healthy eating

In 2014, Spoons Across America reached over 5,000 children through our food and nutrition-based educational programs. Our programs including The Dinner Party Project®, Agricultural Literacy Week, Take-A-Taste with Spoons, Food Miles Relay, Market Basket Tours and Spoons Salad Days are offered in NYC public schools and community-based organizations, teaching children the benefits of healthy eating through hands-on, collaborative, and fun culinary programs. Spoons Across America’s mission is to influence the eating habits of children through hands-on education that celebrates the connection to local farmers and the important tradition of sharing meals around the family table.

Our programs teach children important values and skills to have a zestful life

Spoons Across America provide programs that can easily be integrated into existing curriculum and fulfill educational standards. Hands-on learning stimulates the senses of the child that are not engaged in a typical learning environment. In all our programs, children are asked to observe, taste, smell, and describe their reactions to both new and familiar foods.

A progressive approach in the classroom provides opportunities at all grade and developmental  levels for children to learn and experience our sensory approach to food and nutrition literacy.

• Spoons Across America is the primary implementer of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s New York Agriculture Literacy Week. Each Spring, 2nd graders discover the kinds of food grown and produced in New York state, where these foods come from and the people who are involved in growing and producing them.
• Take a Taste with Spoons educates 3^rd graders about the elements of taste, healthy beverages and nutritious snacks in order to prove opportunities for students to eat, cook, and share food with their classmates.
• In the Spoons Food Miles Relay, 4^th graders learn that the distance food travels can affect the quality and taste of the food.
• The Dinner Party Project is a family-focused food education program that trains children from 5^th to 8^th grade to prepare a dinner party for their families with the hope that they’ll continue developing their culinary skills and healthy eating habits at home.
• Spoons Market Basket Tours introduces  of all ages to the delicious variety of produce available at local farmers markets and teach them how to pick out great, ripe produce for them to eat with their families. 

Our programs encourage children, families, and the community to build a healthier future

Spoons Across America invests in the nutritional education of our children to ensure a healthier future for our community. Our programs expose children to new foods and tastes to improve children’s relationship with food. Children who are involved with food preparation and understand nutrition are more likely to pay attention what kinds of food they are eating and care more about the impact that food will have on their bodies. All of Spoons Across America’s programs teach cooking skills and nutritional concepts that children can bring home to further educate their families. Throughout our program, children’s self-esteem increases and they will be more likely to initiate healthy food choices at home, family conversations, and cook meals together. Parents respond positively to requests from their children to cook together and eat healthier, which can serve to combas the troubling childhood obesity epidemic in America. Sitting down together for meals nurtures family relationships and is a strong predicator of academic achievement. When both children and families improve their relationship with nutrition, they truly realize the importance of sharing healthy meals around the family table and how these precious traditions lead to a healthier, happier, and beautiful life.

Our program is growing

Spoons Across America is excited to announce our new partnerships with the YMCA and other community based programs. We are teaching more children about the benefits of healthy eating.

With your financial support today, we will continue to reach more children and teach them how to choose a healthy meal and to create a long-lasting positive impact to their lives. Here are some examples of what your gift can help us do:

$1,000: 

supports classroom lessons for The Dinner Party Project® in two 5th grade classrooms, which actively engages students in the entire process of planning, preparing and sharing a delicious and festive meal with family and friends.

$500: 

brings the Spoons Food Miles Relay to two 4th grade classrooms, which helps students understand the benefits of eating local by participating in a relay race that explores the energy used to get food from the farm to the table.

$100:

purchases one “Kitchen in a Box” Kit, which enables a group of 30 students to prepare healthy meals as part of The Dinner Party Project and Spoons Salad Days.

$50:

enables five 3rd graders to participate in Take a Taste with Spoons, where they learn about the harvest, explore the elements of taste, sample seasonal produce, and learn a recipe they can prepare at home.

$20:

allows two 2nd graders to participate in Agriculture Literacy Week, where they learn about where food comes from, what kinds of food are produced in New York, who is involved in growing those foods, and how those foods taste.

We rely on volunteers to keep our programs running strong! Email annie@spoonsacrossamerica.org for more information.

Our thanks to Spoons Across America for sharing their work with us!  To learn more about the impact Spoons Across America is making, visit their website and connect with them at http://spoonsacrossamerica.org. Click here to make a donation to Spoons Across America now.