NEW YORK (Dec. 10, 2012) FoodFight, a nonprofit educational organization that aims to revolutionize how teachers and students think about food, consumerism and health, is joining forces with Whole Kids Foundation to expand the Teacher Wellness Program to six U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Calif., Boulder, Colo., and New Haven, Conn.
The program examines the social, political and economic forces that shape what we eat and offers strategies for improving health to help empower teachers and students to make healthier, conscious choices as consumers. Part one of the curriculum focuses on media literacy by deconstructing existing notions of food, consumer culture and how advertising and branding influences what we eat. Part two focuses on basic nutrition education and practical skills to support healthier eating habits including cooking classes and tips for navigating the supermarket.
“Teachers have the power to profoundly influence students’ attitudes toward food and act as a powerful resource when it comes to ending our nation’s obesity epidemic,” said Carolyn Cohen, co-founder of FoodFight. “Together with Whole Kids Foundation, our goal is to arm teachers with the critical knowledge and tools they need to change their purchasing and eating habits and become role models for their students.”
Through this pilot program, Whole Kids Foundation and FoodFight plan to reach 2,000 teachers across the country; additional cities will be named in the coming months.
“Whole Kids Foundation is proud to partner with FoodFight to support the health and wellness of teachers,” said Nona Evans, executive director and president of Whole Kids Foundation. “As former teachers, FoodFight’s founders understand the challenges teachers face when it comes to making healthy choices and they are passionate about making a difference in the classroom.”
One of the first organizations to develop a wellness program for faculty, administration and staff in public schools, FoodFight held its inaugural Teacher Wellness Program workshop in partnership with Whole Kids Foundation at the Park Slope Collegiate High School in Brooklyn, New York in 2012. To date, FoodFight has impacted more than 200 teachers and over 6,500 students in 50 Title 1 schools across New York City.
Whole Kids Foundation, a Whole Foods Market® foundation, is dedicated to improving childhood nutrition and increasing access to healthy food choices through programs that include salad bars, school gardens and healthy eating education for teachers. For more information, visit wholekidsfoundation.org.
