How Teachers Use Food to Teach Special Education
This March, we’re celebrating National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month by highlighting stories of the real Special Education (SpEd) teachers that work with Pilot Light to bring food, cooking, agriculture, nutrition, and food systems education into their classrooms. Food has the power to unlock connections and enrich academics for students of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities. Pilot Light’s teacher-led Food Education model allows educators to use food as a teaching tool to make core subjects like math, science, and reading relevant to students’ real lives. In the past five years, Pilot Light is proud to have partnered with 15 SpEd teachers in our Food Education Fellowship program. Here are just a few examples of their incredible work, teaching us how to use food to teach SpEd students…
“Food is a Language”
Monica Chamberlain, a 6th grade teacher in Hamilton, NY, has experience adapting Food Education lessons to fit the needs of diverse learners: “I have a Special Education certification, so my classroom is always inclusive,” Chamberlain explains. “I have had students functioning at a kindergarten level all the way through 6th grade level in the same classroom…everyone had Food Education throughout the year,” despite the need to modify lessons to fit all of her students’ needs and abilities.
One of Monica’s students, Asher*, has verbal apraxia. “He knows what he wants to say, but he can’t always get it out,” says Chamberlain. “At the beginning of the year, I was like, ‘boy, how am I going to navigate this?'” The answer? Food Education.
“Food has definitely connected him and I, because food is a language all of its own. He worked with me all year long in the kitchen, creating life skills.” Together, Monica and Asher found common ground through the language of food.
*Student name has been changed to protect anonymity.
Homemade, Wallet-Friendly
Students in Mrs. Dixon‘s elementary SpEd class brainstormed affordable ways to make their favorite foods from scratch. “This week we talked about foods that they eat often. The most common foods were chicken, French fries, Takis, and noodles. We talked about the benefits of making foods at home instead of buying them. Some of them were able to tell me that they would not spend as much money. I shared with them that they could also be in control of the ingredients and the taste of it. I challenged them to think about a way that we can make one of these foods at home instead of buying it. They decided on air fried french fries. [Students] sliced and seasoned their fries and we put them in the air fryer. They loved them and wanted seconds!”
Connection and Coffee
Middle school special education teacher Alex C. started a mobile school coffee cart to bring freshly brewed java to his fellow teachers. One student in his class was “highly motivated” to help wheel the school’s coffee cart to different teachers’ classrooms and make them a hot cup of coffee in the morning, brightening their day and building community in the school. This morning coffee cart stroll also helped her achieve some of her physical therapy goals, making this an extra-sweet start to everyone’s day.
Advocating for Change
After a year of Food Education experiences, students in Amy Stamm’s high school SpEd class reflected on the benefits of their Food Education experiences:
- “I think food education is very important. It teaches kids and teens to eat healthy, and make good choices. It made me relize [sic] that I could grow my own food and have fun doing it.”
- “[Food Education] teaches us about how food benifits [sic] us and the impacts of food and how we can absorb nutrients.”
- “I think food education is extremely important because it teaches people future independence through nutrition, budgeting, and also self-skills like learning how to cook and follow directions and recipes. It also helps with creativity because people like to get creative with food, and it also helps people bond and get along more.” “[Food Education] teaches people safety in the kitchen, independence in their eating habits, creativity, food based medicines, and just general enjoyment.”
Finally, students used their collective voice to advocate for the continued use of Food Education in their school by writing a letter and meeting with their school administration. Their advocacy worked, and the students at HEC Academy continue to participate in Food Education today!
How to Teach SpEd Students Using Food
Whether it be practical, real-world experiences like budgeting and meal preparation lessons, simple recipes like single-serve mug cakes, smoothies, and soups, or exploration of new cuisines in a social studies unit, there are countless ways Pilot Light teachers have shown us how to teach SpEd students through food. Check out our online lesson plan library, The Food Education Center, for more free lesson plan templates and ideas!