CookShop Classroom

Within New York City's elementary schools, 24 percent of students are obese and an additional 19 percent are overweight. CookShop Classroom reaches out to our city's children in elementary-school and after-school settings throughout the five boroughs to promote healthy eating habits through curricula that use hands-on exploration and cooking activities to increase appreciation for and enjoyment of a healthy diet.

When elementary schools sign on to the CookShop Classroom in-school curriculum, teachers are trained by Food Bank staff to implement our nutrition-education program. Integrated into nearly 500 classrooms and reaching more than 7,000 pre-kindergarten through second grade students, our in-school curriculum provides a wealth of information including food vocabulary lists, measurements and conversions. Many teachers have also been able to integrate elements from subjects including literacy and science into our curriculum — and to utilize CookShop Classroom materials as resources in their ESL, math and other classes. Curriculum materials include lesson plans, cooking equipment, posters, magnifying glasses, student activity books and more.

The program's after-school curriculum is designed to be implemented at community-based organizations and public school classrooms and taught by instructors who are trained by Food Bank staff. Aimed at children, ages six through 12, the after-school curriculum encourages healthy eating and lifestyles and offer hands-on, interactive activities that address cooking, food preparation, the six basic food groups, the dangers of high-sugar diets and more.

To extend the message of CookShop Classroom, both currilculums provide children with newsletters containing recipes and nutrition activities to take home and share with families and friends. Encouraging students to cook at home with their families reinforces the skills they gain in the program, promotes the children's feelings of competency and self-sufficiency and engages the entire family — and ultimately the entire community — in healthier lifestyles.  In addition, the Food Bank helps facilitate partnerships between participating sites and supermarkets that are able to provide needed food for both curricula. Evaluation of our program has shown that CookShop Classroom both increases children's consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and changes how children think about these foods.

CookShop and the CookShop Program are registered trademarks. For more information on our suite of CookShop Programs, contact Jeannie Fournier, Senior CookShop Manager.