It takes practice to spot additives in packaged foods and discern which ones we’d prefer to eat or avoid. Beecher’s Pure Food Kids Foundation workshops teach 4th- and 5th-graders how to be food detectives for a lifetime of eating in the know — and teaches them how to make a mean pot of vegetarian chili from scratch.
Since launching in 2006, the free (and commercial-free) 2½-hour workshop has reached more than 60,000 students in Seattle and New York and is in more than half the schools in King County, said Kristin Hyde, the foundation’s executive director. “Afterward, a lot of the kids are inspired to cook more, and a lot of the kids are inspired as citizens.”
It all stems from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese founder Kurt Beecher Dammeier’s desire for every child to be an informed eater, in order to help turn the tide of diet-related disease. Homeschoolers, clubs, summer camps, and other organizations can take part as well. Schedule a visit at purefoodkids.org.
