About THe CHIldren’s Food Lab
The Children’s Food Lab provides food arts and sciences discovery labs, where curious minds of all ages can connect to the transformative power of food — food that is integral to the health of their bodies and the environment. Based just north of New York City, the Children’s Food Lab brings nutrition and food education into schools throughout the NYC region.
The Children’s Food Lab (CLF) empowers young people to take control of their wellness through fun, hands-on, multi-disciplinary food arts and sciences discovery labs. The CFL is not a traditional cooking class. In a CFL lab, students learn the cool stories behind ingredients they eat all the time but may know little about: wheat, oats, carrots, milk, corn, eggs, avocado, cacao, and herbs. Then, using all five senses, students explore those ingredients and cook with them.
OUR LABS
When students learn about wheat, for example, they discuss its history, how it’s harvested, what eating it does to our bodies, how a wheat seed is ground into whole wheat flour, and then further sifted into fine white flour. CFL students complete every step of this process themselves (the threshing, winnowing, and grinding of wheat into flour). The lesson concludes when students mix water into that flour to make dough, which is then rolled out into thin crackers.
MULTI-SENSORY S.T.E.A.M. LEARNING
CFL presentations and labs incorporate science, technology, math, nutrition, culture, history, language, and the arts whenever possible. Students explore ways to package and present their foods, while also learning that their food choices affect the health of their bodies and their environment. The context and backstory of each ingredient creates a deeper connection between students, their food, their community, and the environment – a connection that will last a lifetime and shape the course of a child’s health, well-being, and life.