PR Newswire featured Pilot Light and helped to spread the news of the newly released Food Education Standards. With help from Chicago chefs, the USDA, Chicago Public School faculty, and even expertise help from the Universtiy of Chicago and Columbia University, there is a viewable PDF up online and in the article.
Learn more here!
On July 28 Pilot Light co-founders Paul Kahan, Matthias Merges and Jason Hammel spent the evening delighting guests as they cooked a private meal for the Feed Your Mind Gala previous year’s auction winner.
The chefs rolled-up their sleeves to create a BBQ feast for the winner and guests. Chef Paul Kahan (One Off Hospitality – Avec, Blackbird, Publican) opened his backyard to special guests, including Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawk for the event. Guests feasted on fresh seasonal favorites including summer salads, roasted carrots and grilled fish.
Looking ahead to the Feed Your Mind Gala this November, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on an exclusive evening with Pilot Light chefs, a one-of-a-kind Chicago Cubs and Chicago Blackhawks sports packages and more. The black tie optional event will begin with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner, live auction hosted by Chef Auctioneer Graham Elliot and a dessert mixer to follow with Chicago’s best pastry chefs.
Don’t miss your opportunity to attend the Feed Your Mind Gala. Limited tables are available for purchase, and proceeds benefit Pilot Light’s food education programs in Chicago Public Schools. Learn more and pick your chef’s table.
Pilot Light is pleased to be the recipient of the Englewood Quality of Life Fund, which is providing $1800 to help support developing the community garden at Bass Elementary School in the 2018-2019 school year.
The community garden project was brought to life at the On the Table event the past May. Pilot Light chefs and staff joined together with teachers, parents, students and community members to discuss the current challenges they are facing and ideate on how food education can be a catalyst to create change and drive progress within their communities.
Working with local non-profits South Side Roots and BAM, local volunteers and 7th grade students will help plant and tend the community garden throughout the year, providing multi-generational interaction and mentorship. Bass Elementary teachers will be able to use the produce grown in the garden in classroom recipes and lessons, furthering the students understanding of the impact and value of gardening and grow deeper connections to their community.
To learn more about the Englewood Quality of Life Fund click here.
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Photo via A Canadian Foodie
Pilot Light is excited to be the recipient of the Acting Up awards, one of 37 grants from The Chicago Community Trust’s fifth annual On the Table forum. The On the Table forum took place in May 2018, wherein Pilot Light and other organizations gathered with Chicago residents for one day to engage in meaningful dialogue and inspire action to make a difference in our communities over a meal. The forum’s Acting Up awards is designed to help turn ideas generated through On the Table into tangible activities that will benefit Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Winners of the Acting Up awards are scattered across the Chicagoland region and focus on issues such as education and youth development, community engagement, health and wellness, and food access. From our discussions with community leaders, Pilot Light was able to craft three proposals to advance health and wellness in the communities of Bronzeville, Englewood, and Hyde Park.
With our Acting Up award, Pilot Light will be able to implement projects in Englewood, Bronzeville and Hyde Park – each tailored to the neighborhood’s unique strengths and needs – to connect neighbors and solve community problems. Projects include wellness activities, such as healthy meal assembly, cooking classes and community gardens. We’re confident that these projects, because they were designed by the people who work and live in the communities we serve, will not only advance our mission but will bring people together.
Pilot Light would like to thank the following for helping make our initiative possible: the Chicago Community Trust for their generosity and the opportunity to participate in On the Table; the Bronzeville, Englewood, and Hyde Park communities for their commitment to advance wellness; and the lead teachers who helped us plan our On the Table strategy: Ms. Chandra Garcia-Kitch and Ms. Vicki Drewa at Ray Elementary, Ms. Nicole Kerr at Bass Elementary, and Donyale Wallace at UChicago Charter’s Donoghue Campus.
Pilot Light is excited to announce that we are a recipient of a 2018 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Farm to School Implementation Grant, which supports programs bringing local foods into schools. Pilot Light was awarded $60,055, which will be used to expand our food education and experience program from Pritzker College Prep to three additional Noble Charter High Schools.
“The USDA is committed to helping our children build bright futures with good nutrition,” said Brandon Lipps, acting deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services for the USDA. “These grants expose students to the local foods and the importance of agriculture, while supporting American farmers in both urban and rural economies.”
One of 73 recipients nationwide, Pilot Light will use the Implementation Grant to expand the teaching and lunchtime food experiences program implemented at Pritzker College Prep in the 2017-2018 school year. The program combines Pilot Light classroom lessons with healthy and locally sourced in-school lunches provided by Chartwells K12. In the program’s’ initial year, Pilot Light and Chartwells K12 were successful in engaging students and achieved an impressive 90% elective student lunchtime participation. Expanding the program will enable Pilot Light to bring food education and experiences to an additional 550 ninth and tenth grade students.
“Partnering with Pilot Light allows us to expand our food and nutrition education programs to help teach students about new foods and where they came from,” said Paul Kendall, regional director of operations for Chartwells K12. “Congratulations to Pilot Light on receiving a USDA Farm to School Grant. It’s a testament to their success and we look forward to working with them to bring their innovative program to more students in the Noble Network of Charter Schools.”
Along with the expansion of the programs, Pilot Light will engage 12 new teachers in the Pilot Light Food Education Summit, which includes 24 hours of professional development with Pilot Light for each teacher-participant. Teachers receive curriculum and ongoing school-based support and coaching throughout the year. In turn, teachers provide 30 hours of classroom-based Pilot Light lessons to students and lead a food advocacy experience throughout the school year.
“We are thrilled to have Pilot Light expand their programming within the Noble Network of Charter Schools,” said Monica Bromber, director of dining services at the Noble Network of Charter Schools. “This expansion provides Noble students, across the network, with access to food education, unique culinary experiences and a deeper appreciation for living a healthy lifestyle.”
Pilot Light’s overall program effectiveness will be evaluated with assistance from Pilot Light’s partners at the University of Chicago Medicine, and a research team led by Deborah Burnet MD, Chief of General Internal Medicine.
Learn more about the USDA Farm to School Grant here and read the USDA press release here.
As the school year wraps up, Pilot Light joined together with participants of the Pilot Light Institute for Food Education to showcase teachers’ Food Advocacy Projects. Each teacher was tasked with developing student-driven food advocacy projects to teach students to work together toward a common goal that advances wellness in their communities. From community gardens to cook books, the results were an inspiring testament to the positive impact and connectedness that food can provide communities.
Claremont Academy students were tasked with creating their own food dish, ensuring the student able to provide a food experience that they have never had before. “Pilot Light opened their eyes and my eyes to what is possible in the class room.” —teacher, Claremont Academy
Earle STEM Elementary School started a Pilot Light Cooking Club, providing 60 minutes of meal planning and cooking with the students. Additionally, students learned about food preservation to help reduce food waste. Using fermentation, students learned how different cultures use it to preserve vegetables. “We live in a city where we have so many diverse options, but many students are closed off from them. Not anymore thanks to Pilot Light!” —teacher, Earle STEM Elementary School
Mitchell Elementary School was inspired by a student’s excitement from trying tea for the first time. They created a tea and are selling it at the farmers market to benefit the school.
Bass Elementary School revitalized their community garden. The students were empowered to take ownership of the garden; cleaning it, maintaining it, planting new seeds and will soon be harvesting their produce. “Our kids took ownership and (our school garden) was revitalized.” —teacher, Bass Elementary
Ray Elementary School students studied seasonality, researching what grows locally in Illinois. Based on their research, the students then developed their own recipes which were compiled in to a Ray Elementary cookbook called Ray Really Cook.
Pilot Light has reached nearly 1,500 kids in 14 Chicago Public Schools. In classrooms across the city, 51 teachers who received training at the Pilot Light Institute for Food Education worked alongside volunteer chefs to deliver Pilot Light’s lessons and food education standards.
The school year may be coming to a close, but Pilot Light is ramping up for the 2018-19 school year. We need your help now to give more kids in more classrooms that same opportunity. Every $5,000 you help us raise will deliver a full school year of professional development and support to a classroom including teacher participation in the award-winning Pilot Light Institute for Food Education, chef demos, recipes, lesson materials, and healthy food.
Donate now to support Pilot Light reaching 1800 new student in the 2018-2019 school year.
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Image via 101cookbooks
Last Tuesday, May 8, Pilot Light chefs and staff joined together with teachers, parents, students and community members to discuss the current challenges they are facing and ideate on how food education can be a catalyst to create change and drive progress within their communities.
School teachers and staff from Ray Elementary school in Hyde Park, Bass Elementary school in Englewood and UChicago Charter School Donoghue Campus gathered around the table to discuss the needs of their students and surrounding communities. The discussion broached a variety of topics from student engagement and parent involvement, to how the school and communities can come together and use food education to increase engagement, employment and improve quality of life.
These issues cannot be solved quickly. But, as former First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake. This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved.”
From hosting community garden nights and providing support to parents through meal prep groups, to establishing community meals where parents, community members, seniors and students could prepare meals and eat together — the ideas and willingness to join together were limitless.
As the school year wraps up, Pilot Light continues to look for ways to increase food education and create community connections. Pilot Light is applying for the Acting Up Awards, where we would receive a grant from The Chicago Community Trust to implement the aforementioned plans during the 2018-2019 school year.
Be sure and try our Culinary Director, Justin Behlke’s, Sunflower Seed and Herb Dip — a perfect snack for your upcoming summer BBQ.
Meghan Dolan is a veteran teacher. With 15 years under her belt, she has seen a lot inside and outside the classroom while teaching in Iowa (Dubuque), Missouri (Ferguson) and now Chicago. Meghan currently resides at John M. Palmer Elementary School in the North Mayfair neighborhood teaching third grade and co-teaching with a special education teacher in math and reading. She has had the opportunity to refine the skills and principles that make teachers not just good, but great. And in doing so, she’s earned herself one of the top awards in Illinois, the Golden Apple.
The Golden Apple honors 10 outstanding Pre-K through third grade teachers and two exemplary principals for excellence in teaching and leadership in Chicago. As an award recipient and a Pilot Light participant, we sat down with Meghan to learn more about what makes a great teacher and how Pilot Light helps both her students and herself grow and learn.
What motivated you to become a teacher?
My dad is a science teacher and my mom is a special education teacher. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the summer helping them prepare their classrooms and discovered my love for bulletin boards! While mentoring a child with severe and profound disabilities in high school, I realized a profound need to be a voice for kids who do not always have one. For me, I knew I wanted to help children and make a difference in their lives on a daily basis. Teaching was the answer.
How did you learn about Pilot Light and what led you to get involved?
I learned about Pilot Light through our principal, Jennifer Dixon. She discovered the program and recommended I participate, along with some of my colleagues. We started small last year. Our goal this year was to expand and incorporate the lessons into third through fifth grade.
As a teacher, how have you benefited from Pilot Light lessons and support?
Pilot Light provides a different element to the classroom by incorporating food with grade level standards. Thinking of ways to use food, in all different content areas, challenges my creativity as a teacher. I am not a master in the kitchen but Pilot Light has given me some confidence to try new things and has expanded my food knowledge. It pushes me!
Images source: Golden Apple
In your Golden Apple bio, it mentions that incorporating character building exercises and teaching the students kindness and how to give back are skills that are important you impart to the children. Do you feel Pilot Light helps achieve these skills?
Absolutely. Through the Pilot Light lessons, students learn that we are all connected. My classroom is diverse with students from many different backgrounds. Through food, students learn to celebrate our similarities and our differences.
How do you feel your students benefit from the Pilot Light lessons?
The lessons are rich with content, hands-on, engaging and fun. If I say that a chef is coming, the kids scream and get excited. Pilot Light is motivating and makes the kids want to come to school.
You are also a special education instructor. Do you feel that Pilot Light lessons work for all students, regardless of knowledge and skill set?
I have been a special education teacher in years past, and I also hold a degree in the field. Pilot Light is geared towards all children no matter what ability. The lessons address social-emotional issues that students need to learn. It is vital that all kids are treated the same, regardless of any needs they may have. Kids can easily engage in the lessons because everyone has background knowledge around food. Sharing stories brings us all together. Food allows those stories to be told.
What do you feel are the biggest benefits to Pilot Light lessons in your classroom?
The lessons address all learning modalities which help the students remember valuable content information and fosters transfer. Third grade focuses so much on testing and the Pilot Light lessons bring a different element, a creative element to the classroom. Kids love food. We all love food!
Thanks Meghan, for sharing your experiences as a teacher and Pilot Light participant. Congrats on your achievement! To learn more about the Golden Apple awards, visit GoldenApple.org.