Six-week online program equips K–5 teachers with food education tools as federal nutrition funding collapses
, /PRNewswire/ — Eight months after Congress eliminated SNAP-Ed — the country’s largest federally funded nutrition education program, which reached roughly 90 million low-income Americans, including an estimated 35 million children, Teachers College, Columbia University and FoodCorps has announced Food Education in the Classroom (Food-E), the nation’s first microcredential designed specifically to train K–5 teachers in food education.
Food-E is the first program of its kind to pair a top-ranked school of education with a national school-food nonprofit in a single credential for elementary teachers. The six-week online course combines Teachers College’s research in nutrition and pedagogy with FoodCorps’ nearly 15 years of school-based programming, which has reached 1.5 million students across 1,844 schools.
Guest contributors include John B. King Jr., the 15th Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), former U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama, and former New York State Education Commissioner, known for his advocacy on educational equity and opportunity for underserved students; Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard Project, and author of numerous books on seasonal, locally sourced cooking and food education; and Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, Founder of Maya Feller Nutrition, a virtual clinic, Good Morning America nutrition expert, and author known for her work on culturally responsive nutrition. The six-week, asynchronous course (with live sessions) is built around two pillars: nutrition science and experiential learning. It is designed for K–5 teachers and integrates biology, ecology, environmental science, sociology, and history, so educators can connect food lessons to existing standards across subjects rather than treating food as an add-on.
“Kids deserve opportunities to build positive relationships with food from an early age, and teachers are uniquely positioned to make that possible without sacrificing instructional time in the classroom,” said Rachel Willis, President of FoodCorps. “At a time when schools and educators are navigating the loss of critical nutrition education funding, Food-E offers an evidence-based, scalable approach that helps teachers integrate meaningful food education into everyday learning.”
“Food education is not about telling kids what to eat. It’s about teaching them how to think about food — where it comes from, how it shapes their bodies and their communities, and why it matters,” said Pamela Koch, Mary Swartz Rose Associate Professor of Nutrition and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, who leads the program. “When we teach food well in elementary school, we are teaching science, culture, and citizenship at the same time.”
The need is urgent. This month marks the 80th anniversary of the National School Lunch Program, which feeds nearly 30 million students every school day and remains a vital source of daily access to fruit and vegetables for children. Yet access alone is not enough: 60 percent of U.S. children do not eat enough fruit, and 93 percent do not eat enough vegetables to meet daily recommendations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Research shows hands-on food education activities at school — like cooking and gardening — can change that. Among students who experience food education with FoodCorps, an average of 60% increase their preference for fruits and vegetables. With more hands-on activities, students eat up to 3 times as many fruits and vegetables (Koch et al., 2017). Food-E is designed to scale this impact, equipping more teachers with the tools to build student agency around food from the earliest grades.
Teachers who complete Food-E earn CEU/CTLE credits toward professional licensure and leave with an implementation roadmap for their own classrooms. The program is open to teachers in every state, regardless of prior experience with food or nutrition education.
Enrollment for Food-E is open now at foodcorps.org/food-e. The first cohort begins July 13.
About Food-E
Food Education in the Classroom (Food-E) is an online microcredential from Teachers College, Columbia University, in partnership with FoodCorps. The six-week program trains K–5 teachers in evidence-based food education grounded in nutrition science and experiential learning, drawing on FoodCorps’ nearly 15 years of in-school programming and Teachers College’s research and pedagogy. The curriculum spans biology, ecology, environmental science, sociology, and history, and is designed to map to existing curriculum standards. Learn more at foodcorps.org/food-e.
About Teachers College, Columbia University
Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States, is perennially ranked among the nation’s best. Teachers College engages in research and prepares professionals in its three main areas of expertise — education, health, and psychology — to work with public and private entities in local, national, and global communities and inform public policy. Students choose from among 150 separate programs to earn graduate degrees, which are conferred by Columbia University. While it is closely affiliated with Columbia University and collaborates with it on many programs, the College is an independent, autonomous institution with a separate, independent governing board, president, and financial endowment.
About FoodCorps
FoodCorps is a national nonprofit advancing child well-being through food in school. FoodCorps partners with students, families, and communities to champion nourishing food at local, state, and national levels. Our leaders support schools in providing nutritious meals, locally-informed food education, and welcoming school environments that set kids up for positive, vibrant relationships with food. Building on this program, we develop leaders, grow networks, and advocate for policies in service of every kid’s health and well-being. FoodCorps is working toward a future where all 50 million public school students have access to food education and nourishing meals in school. Learn more at www.foodcorps.org.
Press Contact:
Anna Mullen
FoodCorps
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SOURCE FoodCorps
