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Food Education Center
A graphic logo of a sun rising behind two leaves, and the logo for the Feeding Futures Illinois program.

Feeding Futures

Training teachers to lead food & agriculture education in their communities.

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Feeding Futures is a yearlong program designed by the Food-Integrated Education Alliance (or FIEA) to promote teacher leadership and student access to Food & Agriculture Education.

By making food an integral part of education, we aim to connect knowledge about food with opportunities for students to make informed food choices, connect with their communities and each other, and engage in career expanding opportunities in the agriculture and food industries.

In 2024, Pilot Light published the results of their Agriculture Education & Advocacy program. This was originally funded through a generous grant from the USDA’s NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture) Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program. Following the results of this successful program, we saw potential to combine the AgEd & Advocacy content with our Food Education Fellowship model, and the FIEA coalition was born.

Teachers elected for Feeding Futures have the unique opportunity to be part of an intra-district network of educators supported by Pilot Light and the Alliance and be connected with other FIEA members, including the Chicago High School for Agriculture Science, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Decatur Public Schools Foundation, Illinois State Board of Education, Jackie Joyner Kersee Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Innovation Center in East St. Louis, Office of the Lt. Governor of Illinois, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), who support program assessment and evaluation.

Members of the Food-Integrated Education Alliance include: 

Program goals

  • Spark student interest in food and agriculture
  • Foster teacher leadership
  • Help students see learning and career development opportunities
  • Support groups of k-8 educators in high-need areas of Illinois

Impact to Date

3

Illinois Communities

9

Educators

785

Students

3

Illinois Communities

9

Educators

785

Students

100%

of teachers reported increased Food Education knowledge and applied it in their classrooms

65%

of students shared their Food Education knowledge with their families at home.

“Students are having those “aha” moments—realizing that food doesn’t come from the store but has a whole journey before it gets there.”

Feeding Futures Fellow

“Pilot Light has helped me grow by teaching me about healthy food decisions…I also learned that whole foods have a lot of nutrients.”

Feeding Futures Student

“We modified recipes using fractions and portion sizes. The students went up 28-38% on their science scores, and I think it was based on all of the project-based learning we did as a result of Pilot Light.”

Feeding Futures Teacher

“I have really had a great time learning about agriculture and food myself and have enjoyed seeing the students learn and apply what they are learning.”

Feeding Futures Teacher

“I learned that advertising has a big influence on what we choose.”

Feeding Futures Student

“I learned that making small changes in what we eat can make a big difference.”

Feeding Futures Student

Feeding Futures Illinois In Action 

courtesy of Decatur Public Schools 

 

“Being a Feeding Futures Fellow has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve had. It provided the structure, resources, and community to teach food in a way that was authentic, interdisciplinary, and empowering…What I got most out of this experience was the opportunity to see my students become problem-solvers, thinkers, and advocates…Students now see food as a lens to understand the world and themselves.” 

Mrs. Cosey, Feeding Futures Educator, Perkins Bass Elementary School, Chicago, IL