The last two weeks have been a ton of foodie fun for the busy bees at California Food Literacy Center and the kids we teach at Capitol Heights Academy.

Two weeks ago, the kids learned about energy and how certain foods can help them produce longer-lasting energy than others. They also learned about empty calories and that some foods may have energy but lack nutritious vitamins and fiber.  We also had them moving! We played a fun game of “Copy Cat” and had the kids do energetic (and amusing) movements like playing air guitar, dancing like a broccoli tree, and pretending to swim.

The kids also got to meet special guest speakers who have dazzling moves of their own! We were fortunate to have Sacramento King dancers join us for our lesson. One of the dancers is also a nutrition student at University of California, Davis, and she talked to the kids about how she needs to eat healthy foods in order to dance four to five hours a day during the season.

Last week, the kids enjoyed another fun and delicious cooking lesson, which is an activity they look forward to immensely! We taught them how to prepare a healthy seasonal salad made of red cabbage, carrots, raisins, and oranges. Yum! When the kids get to prepare their own dishes, they are definitely more likely to eat unfamiliar foods like red cabbage. Most of the time, they end up loving the dish and will gobble every last piece of veggie! They even ask for second or third helpings.

Our after-school program has been a huge hit at Capitol Heights Academy with 20 more kids signing on this school year. We’re now teaching 120 kids per week, with an average class size of 40 kids per session. We’re fortunate to have four to five trained volunteers from our Food Literacy Academy joining us every week to help us teach the kids.

To ensure kids are getting more one-on-one attention, we are breaking each class into small groups and the Academy trainees are helping to teach these groups. In two weeks, the Academy trainees will begin teaching classes using our curriculum as their certification test and they will be scored by Capitol Heights Academy teachers.

The next few weeks will see more food literacy fun for the kids and more awesome volunteers from our Academy helping us out during lessons. It’s an exciting and busy time for our organization. Time to stock up on healthy foods to energize our bodies and minds!