Programs

Food Literacy Matters
Did you know that only 14% of Americans eat five servings of fruit and veggies daily? Approximately 12.5 million children aged 2–19 years are obese. Meanwhile, the entire global food chain may account for a third of what’s heating our planet. Our current food system is taking a toll on our health, the environment, our kids, and our communities.

This sounds overwhelming! But it doesn’t have to be.

Through public education, we can build a sustainable food system. By taking one small step as individuals, together, we can make a big impact for the greater good.

Our Mission
California Food Literacy Center is breaking new ground with children in schools, and in the public dialog, about foods that are good for us and good for the planet. Our mission is to inspire change today for a healthy, sustainable tomorrow through enduring community food education.

The work of our nonprofit focuses on large-scale public education efforts that extend to multiple tiers of our region, from the media to school classrooms.

Your Peanut Butter Sandwich Can Save the World!
Our practical, funny, and approachable first program, “Your Peanut Butter Sandwich Can Save the World!” will launch in Sacramento, California, at Capitol Heights Academy, a low-income public charter school serving K-5th graders, and to media, in January 2012.

In this 3-month pilot after-school program, we’ll reach 100 children and their parents by using the peanut butter sandwich as a platform to talk about an affordable, healthy food choice that can also be made using 100% farmers’ markets ingredients to help our environment. It’s cheap. It’s practical. Everyone can do it!

Download the postcard for this fun after-school program!

Growing Healthy Communities throughout California
We intend to package the program and its final results to enable other communities to download and spread the message in their own cities and schools.

Measuring Results
We will measure and evaluate our work with a pre-test, testing once per month, and a post-test—taken one-on-one with each child.

Classroom Curriculum
This approachable campaign inspires families to cook for themselves, making practical, nutritious meals at home. Through a combination of classroom education, take-home assignments, and hands-on learning appropriate for both parents and kids, we’ll provide the following curriculum:

  • Science & Math of Recipes
  • Financial Literacy through Food Budgets: Fast Food vs. Made-from-Scratch Meals
  • Helping the Environment with Our Food Choices
  • Community Economics of Buying Locally
  • The Story of Our Food: Storybooks & Literacy
  • Food, Culture, & Ethnic Recipes
  • Fruit & Veggie Identification & Tasting
  • Making Healthy Snacks
  • Reading Food Labels
  • And more!

Download the California Food Literacy Center PB&J SponsorBenefits Program.