When kids and cooking come together on the Cornell College campus, it’s a recipe for a delicious time.
The Bon Appétit at Cornell College team worked with their national Bon Appétit teammates to create a fun and educational program, Healthy Kids in the Kitchen, for Solon first graders who came to campus on March 26 and 28.
“We’ve been doing this Healthy Kids in the Kitchen program since 2018, and this is the largest group that our company has ever done, which is exciting for us,” said Bon Appétit at Cornell College General Manager Dave Smigo. “We typically average about 25 students at a time, and this group alone is 53 students.”
The children spent their time slicing and dicing with kid-friendly cutlery to create a hummus cup and fruit kabobs. The Bon Appétit leaders taught the kids about plant cycles, the nutritional benefits of what they’re eating, and how to be open-minded to try new foods.
“This partnership between Cornell and local schools is great because we want to engage the community,” Smigo said. “During this program, the youth get exposure to what a college campus is like, but they also start to think about the health facets of what they’re eating. So exposure at a young age is why we do this with elementary schools here and around the country.”
The first graders enjoyed coming up with names for their hummus cups. Seven-year-old Emmett Swancutt named his The Green Arch.
“Because I put, like, two celeries on the sides,” Swancutt said. “Then, I cut the cucumber and put it over both of them and made this little arch.”
Abigail Sabers, 7, also came up with a unique name.
“The Red and Green Garden—because you could only see red and green in it.”
The Healthy Kids in the Kitchen program was launched by Bon Appétit in 2015. Nine years, thousands of participants, and hundreds of classes later, Healthy Kids has traveled to Bon Appétit client locations from coast to coast.
