Kids Cook Press Kit Summer 2025

Who We Are

Kids Cook! is a community-rooted nonprofit in Albuquerque that empowers families through culturally relevant, hands‑on cooking and nutrition education. Since our founding in 2000, we’ve partnered with public schools, community centers, and families to teach children how to prepare healthy meals, explore diverse foods, and grow confidence in the kitchen. Over the past 25 years, we’ve served over 45,000 students across 50 schools, particularly working with underserved communities in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Mission & Vision

Mission: To improve the health of children and families by teaching culturally diverse cooking skills, nutrition literacy, and daily activity.
Vision: A future where every child grows up confident, active, food-literate, and emotionally connected to their community.

The Story Behind the Work

In 2000, Hope Miner, a teacher, and Mary Meyer, a public health dietitian, brought a unique new cooking class to Alvarado Elementary in Albuquerque. The pilot was simple: kids in elementary school classrooms learning to measure, chop, and cook. It was a small-scale experiment, but the response was immediate. Children became more curious, families became more engaged, and cooking became a shared experience that built confidence and connection.

That success has led to 25 years of continued growth of this amazing program. Today, we’ve taught in around 50 schools, serving over tens of thousands of students. This education has even reached multiple generations of the same families at schools like Dolores Gonzales Elementary.

What drives us is this: when families learn to cook and eat together, they create lasting habits that nourish mind, body, and community. Our curriculum weaves cooking with exercise, nutrition, cultural food heritage, math, science, reading, and art, turning school classrooms into learning kitchens where children thrive.

Each cooking lesson invites exploration, each meal invites family participation, and each child who gains confidence in the kitchen becomes a potential chef, a more informed eater, and a healthier leader in their own home.

Why This Matters Now

SNAP‑Ed’s elimination has cut off a critical pillar of our funding overnight. Despite this setback, Kids Cook! is adapting rapidly. We’re working hard to secure emergency grants, form new partnerships, and redesign our program to keep serving thousands of APS students quality programming again this year.

What We Do & Where It Shows

  • In-school cooking classes and family cooking nights, reaching over 4,500 students across APS schools in 2024.

  • Multidisciplinary curriculum, integrating cooking with exercise, math, literacy, music, world culture, and science.

  • Community partnerships with Explora, Presbyterian Community Health Resource Center, the Indian Pueblo Entrepreneur Complex, and more.

Key Facts (Cheat Sheet)

Founded: 2000 (pilot at Alvarado Elementary); became a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2009
Headquarters: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Leadership:

  • Executive Director: Sara Robbins

  • Nutrition Education Manager: Spirit Rae Onuigbo

  • Community Outreach & Digital Media: Kennedy Cooper

  • Procurement Director: Lindsey Howell

  • Finance Director: Monica Pino

📚 Programs & Impact Highlights

  • Offers 12.5 hours per student per year in hands‑on nutrition, cooking, and physical activity curriculum, reaching over 4,500 students in 2024 across dozens of Albuquerque schools.

  • Curriculum integrates cooking lessons with math, science, literacy, cultural food heritage, and physical activity. The program encourages at‑home use through take‑home workbooks and family participation.

  • Students Served Since 2000: Over 50,000+ students and family members.

  • Efficient Program: In 2024 we served 13 schools while spending only ~$611,000.

  • Program Expense Ratio: Over 85% of funds allocated directly to classroom and educator costs.

👓 Why It Matters

Kids Cook! turns classrooms into kitchens and cooking into connection. In a region with one of the highest childhood health disparity rates in the nation, our program gives children and families the tools to choose nutritious foods, cook with confidence, and break cycles of stress and illness.

With the loss of SNAP-Ed Kids Cook! has had to reduce our operations and, sadly, is at risk of disappearing forever without community intervention. Please read our most recent press release below to learn more about what’s going on with Kids Cook! and what we’re trying to do to save our program right now: