Taste Quest
Programs
Budget
$47,000.00
Description
Taste Quest's latest initiative equips afterschool programs, homeschool tutorials, camps, and classrooms with everything they need to create hands-on food experiences. Our first curriculum series, Snack Around the World, has six group cooking activities featuring games, stories, experiments, and crafts that introduce kids to global food traditions and techniques. This first kit will include facilitator guides, assessment rubrics, and participant "playbooks" which allow kids to extend the learning experience into the home. We are hoping that this is the first of many curriculum kits we can offer our partner organizations, in addition to a growing online library of additional activities, videos, and other resources for both kids and grownups.
Program Successes
In our last several months of beta testing, our survey data from nine groups (approx. 200 kids ages 6-14) indicates high engagement with each of the activities tested so far. Facilitators have reported ease of use for the facilitator guide, and appreciate the context provided for each of the activities. They recalled wonderful moments when kids excitedly shared their creations with one another, with teachers and principals, and with their families. Many kids were trying several superfoods including avocados, green peppers, and chickpeas for the first time, and many were delighted to discover that they liked them. Many tried putting spinach in smoothies and were shocked to discover that the smoothie was still delicious. One group pulled their principal into the room to get him to try their guacamole, and he sportingly agreed even though he didn't care for guacamole. Many facilitators reported that kids were begging for more activities.
Category
Food, Agriculture & Nutrition - Nutrition
Beneficiaries
Children
Long-term Success
To succeed in our mission, we want to see kids empowered for positive change in three spheres: building a healthier relationship to food, developing critical life skills, and serving their families and communities with food. Our assessment rubrics track behaviors in each of these categories, both for initial exposures to new foods and skills, and for habit formation over time. For Taste Quest, long-term success looks like kids across Nashville and beyond taking initiative with their food choices, cooking for their families, and finding ways to serve their community, whether as soup for a neighbor, practicing sustainable living, or volunteering with other food-focused nonprofits.
Short-term Success
Short-term success for each curriculum kit looks like kids trying new foods, attempting new skills, growing in skills (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and confidence), and finding ways to share the six new recipes they've customized to make their own. We hope to equip 75 groups during the upcoming school year and to double that the following school year.
Program Success Monitored By
We intend to track progress through two primary means: our assessment rubrics and conversations with facilitators. Our assessment rubric organizes desired skills and behaviors into six kid-friendly categories of Adventurers:
Trailblazers try new things,
Architects think through beauty and structure,
Scientists utilize the scientific method,
Cultivators explore where food comes from and where waste goes,
Wayfinders build upon established skills to attempt new challenges,
Chefs find ways to serve others with food
For this rubric, facilitators will check off 27 suggested skills/behaviors to track group progress, and give stickers to each participant as they demonstrate these behaviors . Participants can collect the Adventure stickers in their Playbook to track their own skill development.
In the conversations with facilitators, we will collect stories from the activity sessions, as well as feedback to continue improving our methodology.
Program Areas Served
Nashville Metro Area
$47,000.00
Description
Taste Quest's latest initiative equips afterschool programs, homeschool tutorials, camps, and classrooms with everything they need to create hands-on food experiences. Our first curriculum series, Snack Around the World, has six group cooking activities featuring games, stories, experiments, and crafts that introduce kids to global food traditions and techniques. This first kit will include facilitator guides, assessment rubrics, and participant "playbooks" which allow kids to extend the learning experience into the home. We are hoping that this is the first of many curriculum kits we can offer our partner organizations, in addition to a growing online library of additional activities, videos, and other resources for both kids and grownups.
Program Successes
In our last several months of beta testing, our survey data from nine groups (approx. 200 kids ages 6-14) indicates high engagement with each of the activities tested so far. Facilitators have reported ease of use for the facilitator guide, and appreciate the context provided for each of the activities. They recalled wonderful moments when kids excitedly shared their creations with one another, with teachers and principals, and with their families. Many kids were trying several superfoods including avocados, green peppers, and chickpeas for the first time, and many were delighted to discover that they liked them. Many tried putting spinach in smoothies and were shocked to discover that the smoothie was still delicious. One group pulled their principal into the room to get him to try their guacamole, and he sportingly agreed even though he didn't care for guacamole. Many facilitators reported that kids were begging for more activities.
Category
Food, Agriculture & Nutrition - Nutrition
Beneficiaries
Children
Long-term Success
To succeed in our mission, we want to see kids empowered for positive change in three spheres: building a healthier relationship to food, developing critical life skills, and serving their families and communities with food. Our assessment rubrics track behaviors in each of these categories, both for initial exposures to new foods and skills, and for habit formation over time. For Taste Quest, long-term success looks like kids across Nashville and beyond taking initiative with their food choices, cooking for their families, and finding ways to serve their community, whether as soup for a neighbor, practicing sustainable living, or volunteering with other food-focused nonprofits.
Short-term Success
Short-term success for each curriculum kit looks like kids trying new foods, attempting new skills, growing in skills (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and confidence), and finding ways to share the six new recipes they've customized to make their own. We hope to equip 75 groups during the upcoming school year and to double that the following school year.
Program Success Monitored By
We intend to track progress through two primary means: our assessment rubrics and conversations with facilitators. Our assessment rubric organizes desired skills and behaviors into six kid-friendly categories of Adventurers:
Trailblazers try new things,
Architects think through beauty and structure,
Scientists utilize the scientific method,
Cultivators explore where food comes from and where waste goes,
Wayfinders build upon established skills to attempt new challenges,
Chefs find ways to serve others with food
For this rubric, facilitators will check off 27 suggested skills/behaviors to track group progress, and give stickers to each participant as they demonstrate these behaviors . Participants can collect the Adventure stickers in their Playbook to track their own skill development.
In the conversations with facilitators, we will collect stories from the activity sessions, as well as feedback to continue improving our methodology.
Program Areas Served
Nashville Metro Area
