TasteWise Kids

TasteWise Kids inspires kids to explore and experience the world of food and its sources. We firmly believe that kids deserve to:
1. know where food comes from
2. have the knowledge to make their own informed food choices
3. have the skills to prepare their own food

Therefore, we use engaging, hands-on experiences to teach kids about food — where it comes from, why it tastes the way it does, and how to prepare it — which helps them discover what they like and empowers them to build healthy eating habits.

TasteWise Kids operates with a single goal in mind: to offer children fun ways to learn about food and inspire a lifetime of positive, healthy eating habits. We empower children of all ages to think about food in new ways, to explore their own sense of taste and to realize that flavorful, nutritious food and good health go together – naturally. As part of this work, students also benefit from seeing first-hand where food comes from and learning about the importance of agriculture and respecting their environment.

We follow three fundamental principles in our programming:

● Use your hands: We believe students learn best when they can explore actively and reach their own conclusions. Therefore, our programs are designed to teach new concepts and ideas through hands-on activities.
● Ask an expert: We believe there is no substitute for experts in their fields. That is why we invite local chefs, farmers, and other food professionals to help lead our programs.
● Have fun: We believe that students learn the most when they're enjoying themselves. That's why we take a “food enthusiast’s” approach to our programs, focusing on all the senses, the excitement of trying new foods, and the pleasures of eating with family and friends.

Our programming includes our Days of Taste program for 4th graders, food education workshops for kids and families, and providing opportunities to high school culinary students to both build their food knowledge and to act as mentors to younger students.

Our small staff brings to the table expertise in such areas as program design & implementation, data analysis and evaluation, development, teaching, nutrition, biology, and marketing and awareness.

We work with local chefs, farmers, and other food professionals (all who donate their time) to teach our students from multiple perspectives:
● Health and nutrition
● Agriculture and environmental stewardship
● Career Awareness/Development
● Culinary and preparing food to individual taste preference
● Social aspects of eating with friends and family

Because we are a small organization, we also rely on over 75 volunteers each year to provide much of the programming to our students. This is a win-win as the volunteers often learn as much from our chef, farmers, and food professionals as the students do.

We also greatly value partnerships and collaborative work so we partner with other non-profits, universities, local business and individuals on a regular basis.

TasteWise Kids programming is truly interdisciplinary. We use the exploration and enjoyment of food as the vehicle for students to learn about: 1) Culinary skills/taste, 2) Agriculture/food sources, 3) Wellness/health and 4) Career development. Teaching these core elements within one program or workshop makes us unique as other organizations typically focus their work on only 1-2 of these topics. We feel that these topics/elements are very interconnected and provide a broader picture of the whole food system. Therefore, we engage our students across the entire “world of food” by providing new and meaningful experiences and learning in these 4 core elements. Through these experiences, our kids engage in fun and memorable ways to learn about food and inspire healthy eating habits.

Over 4,500 students families in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard, and Harford Counties have participated in our programming each year, including visiting local farms and learning to make healthy meals with professional chefs.

Our signature program, Days of Taste, teaches 4th graders about the elements of taste and the journey of food from farm to table. The program is a three-part interactive learning experience that introduces students to the elements of taste, encourages them to try mixing flavors to change the way food tastes, and allows them to participate in food’s journey from farm to table. The program takes place in the classroom and on a working farm…But it’s not just kids who are having all the fun, it’s a true family affair. For example, parents are invited to come to the farm and over 600 families a year receive a fresh salad kit to make at home, ensuring that the lessons kids are learning through the continuation of these activities once they’re back home.

In the past year, we have started to pilot new program ideas. Specifically, recognizing the need for food knowledge and skills at the high school level, we have targeted Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school students in partnership with organizations such as the Restaurant Association of Maryland. In addition, after being contacted by a variety of other non-profits we realized there is a true need for quality, hands-on food/nutrition educational programming outside of the school day. Therefore, we started to develop and implement stand-alone workshops for a variety of age groups in after school, summer learning, and other out of school settings.