About

History/About Kids Cook!

Kids Cook!  is a multicultural nutrition and food education program. The major issue addressed is the health of growing children. In July 2009 Kids Cook! became a non-profit 501(c)3.

Kids Cook!  began offering program in 2001 at two schools, as a pilot. We are currently in 14 schools, serving over 6500 students including special education. Kids Cook! offers every student, in each of our schools 13 hours of hands-on nutrition education which includes, 1 Welcome Class, teaching sanitation and safety, measurement, and an art project, 4
Hands-on Cooking Classes and 3 Tasting Classes taught by nutrition educators in collaboration with classroom teachers, educational assistants and parent volunteers.

Together we involve students in learning about culturally diverse foods by giving all participants the opportunity to prepare foods that are healthy and appealing. Our hands-on methods increase acceptance of nutritious foods while modeling healthy food choices. We work with students and their families to teach that the preparation of food often takes the same amount of time it takes to eat out. This, with the additional benefits of improving nutrition, strengthens family ties through shared work and the enjoyment of sitting down to eat together.

An example of a cooking class is Mediterranean which consists of, rotini with a tomato, olive, caper sauce made by the students. Students also make a flatbread and Mediterranean Style green salad. All meals are made from scratch by students and enjoyed as a group at the end of the lesson. After every class ,recipes are sent home for families to prepare together.

Program activities use an integrated curriculum format that provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Current research shows a strong link between physical activity and retention of curriculum. Included in each Kids Cook! class is 10 minutes of physical activity.

Hope Miner is the Founding Director of Kids Cook! and author of the Kids Cook! curriculum. She has 37 years in education. After working as an elementary teacher, principal and 10 years as the program director of Kids Cook! she has learned that true education occurs when students are involved in a hands-on learning experience. Hope’s other love is food, growing, preparation and the joy of eating with family and friends. Kids Cook was developed as a way to combine nutrition, healthy eating and education into a complete package that is tied to State Educational Standards and is a favorite with students and their families.

Our motto is: Eat Food, Real Food with Variety and Moderation.

We would like to thank the New Mexico Department of Health and Albuquerque Public Schools Food and Nutrition Service as well as a Santa Fe based program, Cooking with Kids for their help and collaboration.

Our Funding:

Our work is partially supported by private funding from foundations and people like you. Please consider adding your voice to ours by donating now.