Overview
Kids in the Kitchen: Classroom Edition is a twist on the Junior League of Central & North Brevard’s typical health and wellness fair. As a small league of less than 100 total members, the JLCNB is committed to expanding the Kids in the Kitchen message each year despite our league size. What better way to enhance our reach and impact than to work with our local teachers! In recent years, we have experienced a declining trend in our KITK attendance as well as volunteer shortages due to our small member base. Our KITK: Classroom Edition allows us to bring the message directly to the target audience and exponentially make a tremendous impact.
How it works
Kids in the Kitchen: Classroom Edition provides elementary teachers with health & wellness material targeted for grades K-3rd. The activities and resources are based around the book “The Adventures of Tommy Tomato.” The book, by Florida author Jay Holt, teaches the benefits of nutrition and healthy eating in a fun and creative way. The book and accompanying activities are designed to be instructor-led and reusable thereby amplifying the depth of the topics as the instructors can build on them year after year. By incorporating a unique reading aspect into our Kids in the Kitchen program we remain aligned with our league’s current focus on childhood literacy and proficiency.
What’s the impact?
Integrating a reading aspect into our program allow us to also tackle the growing concerns of low health literacy in our country. Individuals with low literacy skills are less likely to comprehend the adverse health consequences of obesity or to understand the basics of food nutrition labels. We believe health literacy is imperative to improving preventative care and reducing health disparities.
In addition to providing books and activities, the program also provides healthy snacks for the classroom (including Kashi products), recipe ideas and parent/teacher information explaining the Kids in the Kitchen initiative and its importance.