Pilot Light: Beacon for Food Education in Schools
Our latest Generation E article, plus a teaser for big Local Food Forum news
Generation E: A Pilot Light Food Education Primer
Pilot Light is a Chicago-based non-profit, created by leading farm-to-table chefs, that for more than a decade has been helping schools integrate food education in their lesson plans.
I first became aware of Pilot Light, and became friends with now-longtime Executive Director Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn, about a decade ago, and I greatly admire the organization’s huge contribution to instilling better-for-people, better-for-planet food values in our youngest eaters. The photo above, from March 2015, is of a visit I paid to one of Pilot Light’s teaching days featuring chefs, including Paul Kahan of One Off Hospitality Group working with kids as seen here.
As the latest installation of our new series Generation E (for Eaters), Pilot Light has provided the explainer below about what it is, what it does and how it does it. Please scroll down, but first read the following teaser about some big news about Local Food Forum that is coming tomorrow.
Tomorrow: Announcing Our Biggest Step Forward
Please don’t miss tomorrow’s Local Food Forum because I am going to announce our biggest step forward yet. No spoilers, but if you’ve been watching carefully, I’ve been scattering some breadcrumbs about this new development.
In the nearly 2-1/2 years since I launched Local Food Forum, we have attracted nearly 900 subscribers. On one hand, I’m immensely proud of this, considering that this is a publication targeted at folks who believe strongly in supporting a vibrant and resilient local food ecosystem (and we haven’t had a dime to spend on marketing).
But on the other hand, I believe we’ve only scratched the surface so far… there are so many more people out there who are committed local food consumers who should find Local Food Forum an informative and entertaining read, but haven’t found us yet.
The announcement tomorrow will reveal our next big step toward higher visibility, enhanced user experience, and utilization of the portfolio of content published so far in Local Food Forum… while maintaining the integrity and vibrancy of this Substack newsletter as our primary vehicle for delivering news and information several days each week.
Tune in tomorrow. I hope you’ll be impressed. Dazzled, maybe.
What is Pilot Light?
[We thank Pilot Light for the following contributed content about their important work.]
Pilot Light is a Chicago-founded Food Education nonprofit that partners directly with educators across the country who integrate food into everyday classroom learning: by making food relevant, exciting, and meaningful to PreK-12 students during the school day, Pilot Light empowers them to become informed and active members of the food system.
At Pilot Light, we believe in inspiring curiosity, inviting connection, and empowering individuals of all ages and backgrounds to be informed by foods’ role in their daily lives and empowered to become positive and informed members of the food system.
Learn more and get involved at www.pilotlightchefs.org, and follow @pilotlightchefs on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can get the latest classroom stories from Pilot Light educators by subscribing to our newsletter.
What is Food Education?
Food Education is a holistic educational approach that brings the power of food inside the classroom. At Pilot Light, we believe in the expansive, nuanced power of food.
Pilot Light believes that Food Education for PreK-12 students is a vital component of creating a better food systems future. Through our holistic model that incorporates “learning about food, nutrition, and role that food plays in one’s life, relationships, culture, communities, environment, and in history and society,” educators can inspire students to become active and informed members of the food system.
How does Pilot Light work?
Pilot Light invests in educator leadership through several programs: The annual Food Education Fellowship, SnackTime Explorers, Agriculture Education (AgEd) & Advocacy, and Classroom to Cafeteria. These programs promote teacher professional development, in-community partnerships, and provide materials and resources that are all key components to building teacher capacity to deliver integrated Food Education.
Our goal is to support educators as they build a school-wide Food Education culture that empowers students to become informed members of the food system, leading to an equitable and sustainable food systems future.
Pilot Light Educator & Student Voices
“[My students] have really been into knowing options– for careers, for farming, for food, raising animals, and how to do it all. They’ve investigated raising certain animals in the city…urban kids [typically] don’t talk about that.”
- 2022 AgEd & Advocacy Middle School educator
"My favorite part of the school year has been cooking and trying different foods. It has been so fun and is something we did together as a class like a big family"
- 3rd grade 2022-23 Food Education Fellowship student
"My understanding of how food affects my life has improved. I learned about how to grow different plants and eat them safely. I also learned about more sustainable options, like Kernza instead of wheat"
-7th grade 2022-23 Food Education Fellowship student
“The students came together and wrote a letter, divided it into sections where each of the seniors presented a set of points to our Director and Assistant Director to plug for continuing to build out the [Food Education] that we started this year. They really loved it and wanted it to be a central part of our school!"
- Amy S. 9th-12th Grade Teacher in Northampton, MA
“I want people in New York City to know that fruits and vegetables are good for them. And the food we eat is from farms. It is best to support your local farm.”
- 3rd grade 2023 Classroom to Cafeteria student
“[Pilot Light has] actually opened my students' eyes about the foods that they were consuming on a daily basis. It gave them background knowledge on the different food groups that made them think about a balanced diet.”
- 3rd grade Classroom to Cafeteria Educator
"My class has learned a lot about advocating for food choices this year. It’s been wonderful to watch them learn about and expand their thinking related to what they eat. I’ve heard them talking about food labels during snack, as well as chatting about what they want to eat after school."
- Pilot Light 2022-23 Fellow Ann K., 3rd grade Educator
I’m Shopping in the Rain, Just Shopping in the Rain
OK, so I’m the guy who keeps telling readers that it’s on the nasty weather days that our farmers markets and their vendors need us most. So I donned the windbreaker and a hat and visited the SOAR Farmers Market (one of my favorites), which takes place on Tuesdays in the plaza in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago’s downtown Streeterville neighborhood.
Honestly, it wasn’t doing much more than drizzling, though heavier rains earlier in the morning definitiely kept the crowds down.
We didn’t need much, so I just got some of this lovely zucchini and yellow summer squash from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois)…
… and I bought my first Empire apples of the year from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois). Empires were developed in the 1940s at Cornell University in my home state of New York. I have fond memories of fall trips to the Hudson Valley and discovering these delicious apples at a time when those bland Red Delicious apples dominated the supermarket trade. I’ve loved them ever since.
I also picked up a red peanut tofu salad and tofu dip from my friends at Chicago’s Phoenix Bean/Jenny’s Tofu. Then while I was composing this newsletter, I got the photo above from company president Jenny Yang who today is in Minneapolis exhibiting at The Fortune Food and Beverage Experience presented by the Fortune Fish & Gourmet distributor company.
If you haven’t tried Phoenix Bean or Jenny’s Tofu, you should. It is uniquely fresh and flavorful.