United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. is thrilled to be collaborating with CHEFs for Schools in the effort to combat childhood obesity! Created to address the growing problems of obesity, malnutrition and poverty in New York City, Cheap Healthy Eco-friendly Food (CHEFs) for Schools works to increase awareness of proper nutrition, meal preparation, and environmental consciousness in New York youth.

CHEFs for Schools teaches kids about food and where it comes from, even taking them on fieldtrips to see it first hand.

This spring, CHEFs for Schools New York University Chapter hosted their annual trip to Stone Barns Agricultural Center in upstate New York. Students from NYU teamed up with children from PS 124 in New York City to learn more about the origins of food and healthy eating through a guided tour of the Stone Barns Center. We saw vegetables (both outdoors and in a greenhouse) and animals (pigs, chickens, and sheep). The students were extremely engaged during the tour, and every time we stopped to look at the next animal or plant their faces lit up; it was something they had never seen before. For many of the children (and some of the NYU volunteers), it was the first time they had seen where their food comes from. Best of all, not only did we learn more about healthy and eco-friendly eating; we got our daily exercise at the same time walking around the farm. By showing the children and volunteers where the food they eat comes from, we are giving them the tools to make better decisions about their dietary health. By putting people back in touch with the origins of their food we hope to lead people to make healthier and more eco-friendly choices about what they are putting into their bodies.
- Alexis Zimba-Kirby, CHEFs for Schools COO

CHEFs volunteer Shirley Zhang saw the effect on the kids firsthand:

“I really enjoyed the trip to Stone Barns because I know for certain that it had a positive impact on the students, as they loved questioning our tour guide about the greenhouse, plants, and animals on the farm. It was great to take the students out of the city to have them take a look at the farm life.”

Stay tuned for more exciting and inspiring stories like this one, and to get more ideas about how you can get involved!