I learned in Pilot Light that food is really tied to history and culture so it’s important to use food to represent yourself. I feel like people do that sometimes in the world today. It affects how you view them and how they view themselves.
- 5th Grader
I just wanted to say that as an educator I was very impressed by everything I saw yesterday. From the involvement of the chefs to the application of the lessons everything was top notch! You have a very special program and concept going here and I really hope it can spread to other schools.
- Christina Erickson, High School Teacher, Chicago
Before Pilot Light, me and my friends would eat jolly ranchers all the time. Then in Pilot Light they showed us how to make hard candy out of sugar. Then we stopped eating it because we saw all of the sugar that went into it.
- 6th Grader
Thanks, [Pilot Light] for inviting us to participate in your event today. We were very impressed with everything Pilot Light is doing to educate Chicago students about food and nutrition. (And the food was mighty tasty, too.)
- Alan Shannon, USDA
Food connects us to the world because it’s kind of like, we’re on this planet for a reason and so is food. If we’re on the planet for a reason then we should try other things that are on the planet so you can be diverse with everything. But you can also put it back into the planet. Last year [in Pilot Light] we were talking about plants and how people do compost... better than throwing it away.
- 4th Grader
I really enjoyed the connection the lessons created between food production, nutrition, sources, and culture. I also enjoyed the hands on activities because they allowed the students to make real connection to the concepts.
- 3rd Grade Teacher, John M. Smyth Elementary (University Village)