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Nutrition & Youth
The Palette Fund partners with school and community programs that educate and encourage youth to develop healthy eating habits. Nutrition is a powerful elixir in preventing school-age obesity, which is quickly becoming one of the most prevalent disorders facing children today. Introducing healthy eating choices to kids at an early age will have a positive influence on their minds and bodies, their families, and ultimately their communities.
Our Current Programs Include
Project Aspire
The Palette Fund sponsors the nutrition portion of Project Aspire, a school-based public health initiative of Touro College at PS 197 in Central Harlem. Through classroom lessons, theme-based assemblies, special events and educational field trips, Project Aspire encourages students to lead healthy lifestyles and pursue health careers. Project Aspire introduces the importance of eating whole foods to 120 pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade students, their teachers, parents and school staff through live, interactive show-and-tell demonstrations.
Palette is now doing even more at PS 197!! Click here to read the most up to date information on what Palette is doing with Project Aspire
Edible School Yard New York
The Edible Schoolyard at P.S. 216 is the first four-season example of renowned chef and organic food activist Alice Waters’ program and the first in New York City. Its goal is to create a space in which the schoolchildren plant, harvest, prepare food and eat together, creating a comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum, tied into New York State Standards, that connects food systems to academic subjects such as literacy, science, social studies, math, and the arts. With the help of a grant from The Palette Fund, The Garden officially opened on October 15, 2010.
The Sylvia Center
The Sylvia Center is a garden-to-table program that inspires young people to discover good nutrition through thoughtful, direct experiences with seasonal fruits and vegetables, on the farm and in the kitchen. In conjunction with The Sylvia Center at the Ingersoll Community Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, this grant enabled chef’s to teach children to establish lifelong positive eating habits that will in turn affect their wellbeing, productivity and overall health. Twice a week our health-supportive chefs conduct food literacy and cooking classes for more than 80 children throughout the school year. This program also hosts a series of healthy cooking classes for both children and their parents with hopes to further integrate nutrition into their daily lives.
Wellness in the Schools
Wellness in the Schools (WITS) is a non-profit, community-based organization founded in 2005 to improve the environment, food, and fitness in NYC public schools. In partnership with the New York City Department of Education’s Office of SchoolFood, WITS operates the Cook for Kids program in NYC public school kitchens and classrooms. In an effort to combat childhood obesity and to promote healthy eating, WITS works to prepare fresh meals from scratch and to educate families about the importance of eating whole, unprocessed foods. In order to accomplish this goal, WITS places culinary school graduates in schools. These in-resident cooks work alongside cafeteria workers to train, inspire, and support their preparation of salad bars and fresh homemade meals. In the school Palette is sponsoring, the cooks also conduct seasonal cooking classes and offer regular demonstrations to teach children, parents and teachers how to cook delicious, nutritious and inexpensive recipes, using fresh local ingredients wherever possible. Sponsoring New York City restaurants offer consultation and promotional support.