by Justin Crum 

Summer is always a bittersweet time of year for us on the CookShop team.

CookShop Classroom for Elementary School helps children gain the knowledge and skills needed to make and appreciate healthy choices.

After school lets out in June, our CookShop Classroom for Elementary School nutrition workshops go into hibernation until school starts up again in the fall.  During the summer months we miss seeing and hearing about the learning adventures of our youngest students as they discover new healthy foods.

As blogger Matt Gustafson recently wrote, the final CookShop “celebration” lesson has been held, giving students a chance to review and celebrate all they learned in CookShop this year. From the parts of a plant to nutrients, kitchen skills and sensory vocabulary, our students have a lot to reflect on!

Though the school year has ended, it doesn’t mean our students stop learning and sharing. They have all been sent home with CookShop Certificates and nutrition newsletters so they can share their newfound knowledge with friends and families. And this summer, our students will likely be spending time in supermarkets, farmers markets and kitchens with their families, so they’ll have plenty of places to practice what they’ve learned. Maybe they’ll even get to help out in the kitchen!

Though CookShop Classroom for Elementary School is on summer break, stay tuned for news about our other CookShop components — including CookShop Classroom for After-School and CookShop for Teens (EATWISE) — that are running strong all summer!

Justin Crum is the Youth Development Manager for EATWISE, the Food Bank's CookShop for Teens program.