Our first Food Education Standard is “Food Connects Us to Each Other” and this connection through food—one that we build alongside educators, youth, and communities through our programs—is at the heart of what we do. By sharing food with others, we connect as humans and learn more about one another’s cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. The sharing of food provides us greater opportunities to create a culture of connection around the table and across the country. 

A Culture of Connection 

At Pilot Light, we believe in building upon the existing knowledge, skills, experiences, connections, and assets within the communities we serve to empower young people to become knowledgeable, active members of their communities and the larger food system. 

As an organization that serves a variety of communities and stakeholders, we strive to: 

• Create a student experience that is collaborative, participatory, adaptable, and builds off of their individual and cultural knowledge and experiences with food 
• Make food advocacy an essential component of comprehensive Food Education: students of every age, background, location, and ability can become advocates for a better food system future on a local, national, and even global scale 
• Center the voices of the educators, students, families, and communities we serve in our decision-making processes 
• Allocate time and resources to support connections between classroom lessons and real food in the communities we serve through: 
  • Conversations driven by community wants, needs, priorities, and involvement that connect Pilot Light educators with community leaders 
  • Careful selection of Fellows, schools, and community partners in our programming from a variety of perspectives, locations, and backgrounds 
  • Expansion of our programming to allow more entry points for educators to bring vitally important Food Education experiences to their students outside of the Food Education Fellowship 
  • Support of district-level school food connections and collaborations between cafeteria staff, administrators, and educators
• Actively seek Food Education expertise from a variety of stakeholders who bring unique, informed perspectives to improve our work and Food Education offerings for students, educators, and families. 

This commitment to our community is integral to our long-term success and growth. We welcome constructive feedback from you, the valued members of our community, on this commitment and any of our processes and policies as part of our dedication to self-reflection and continuous improvement. Thank you for being an important part of our ever-growing community!