KITK Edible Autos Recipe

Kids in the Kitchen had a great time at Touch a Truck!  In addition to our Road Map adventure, the committee handed out recipes in theme with TAT!  Check out this healthy snack recipe!

Healthy Snack:

Edible Autos

Servings: 2   Ingredients: 1 Red Apple 1 Green Apple 12 Purple Grapes 12 Green Grapes   Directions: 1.      Slice an apple into wedges and trim the core. 2.      For each apple car, slice 2 grapes in half, widthwise. 3.      Push the pick through the sliced side of one grape half. 4.      Now push the pick through one end of the apple slice. 5.      Finish with the other grape half, sliced side out. 6.      Repeat with the other end of the apple wedge and 2 more grape halves, and it should look like a little car  🙂

(optional) Trim any protruding pick if desired.

 

 

 

Kids in the Kitchen at the PHX Kids GET FIT event

Fresh air, beautiful Arizona sunshine and the sound of little voices laughing surrounded us at the PHX Kids GET FIT event on October 1st. This free afternoon of fun and health was offered by The City of Phoenix Latino Institute along with community partners including the Junior League of Phoenix Kids in the Kitchen Committee!

We offered 3 hands-on cooking demos consisting of fruit kabobs, hummus and a vegetarian wrap. The children loved getting their hands in the mix by measuring, preparing and creating. It was exciting to see cooking through the children’s eyes. What sometimes seems like a chore or simply a means to an end was great fun for the kids.

The little ones viewed it as an art project; ripping up cilantro, sorting the bright fruit colors, and combining the ingredients for an outcome that was tasty and aesthetically appealing. We forget how tactile cooking really is and how healthy it can be for both our minds and bodies!

In the booth we offered educational games involving the food groups and how much sugar various beverages contain. Their knowledge was pretty impressive and the best part—watching them learn while having fun! They loved the healthy prizes including water bottles, pedometers, apples and oatmeal. The pedometers were a big hit and surprisingly the oatmeal was a favorite as well.

Thank you to all the JLP members who spent their morning making a healthy difference! These are the moments when we see our effort come to fruition and our impact happening right in front of our eyes.

Kids in The Kitchen Updates!

Kids In The Kitchen is back for the 2016-2017 year!  The committee is excited to continue with impacting local youth and families to adopt healthy eating habits.  We will continue with our nutritional lessons at the Boys and Girls Club in Guadalupe and we are excited to announce we will be adding an additional club in Chandler!

The lessons address portion sizes, well-rounded meals, reading nutrition labels, choosing healthy snacks… it’s amazing how much the kids learn and retain by the end of the year at the Little Chef celebration!

This year with the addition of branches, more families will be able to participate at the Little Chef event with putting together healthy, affordable pre-made meals to take home and save for later (last year we also gave away goody bags including a crockpot!).

Members: keep an eye out on the member calendar for volunteer shifts so you can join in on the fun!

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The Junior League of Phoenix is a network of empowered female civic leaders working with community partners to address and solve pressing issues like food insecurity/food access and with programs addressing nutrition and obesity. We’re part of an international network of 291 Leagues comprised of over 150,000 women, in Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S., engaged in similar work in their own communities. This provides us with a unique and powerful depth of knowledge and resourcefulness to bring about the changes we strive to accomplish.

Who Feeds Hungry Kids in Summer?

It’s a good question. According to the USDA, more than 22 million schoolchildren are eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the year through the National School Lunch Program, but during the summer, only 1 in 6 of those kids participate in the Summer Food Service Program. (The federal government is seeking to address that shortfall with the Seamless Summer Option, which offers local school districts a streamlined approach to feeding hungry children.)

Of course, the question of hungry kids in summer is part of a larger problem – hunger in American homes generally. A widely quoted statistic, from the Food Research & Action Center, a national advocacy group working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the U.S., says that 1 in 6 families suffer from food insecurity.

Many nonprofits and advocacy groups are working to address that imbalance, in a wide range of ways.

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign connects kids in need with nutritious food and teaches their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.

Feed the Children connects donors, experts, partners, leaders and communities to attack the hunger problem from all angles.

Feeding America is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, with a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country.

Food and nutrition have long been issues of concerns for many Junior Leagues.

In fact, action by the Junior League of Brooklyn in successfully petitioning the New York City Board of Education led to free lunches in schools there, a program that later became the model for the National School Lunch Program.

Many other Leagues are still creating innovative ways to deal with hunger insecurity and children in their communities.

And then there’s AJLI’s Junior Leagues’ Kids in the Kitchen program, now in its 10^th year, and adopted by more than 200 Junior Leagues in four countries.

By the way, if you’re looking for some healthy and nutritious kid snacks and meals from the KITK cookbook, try these!

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*This article was originally published in The Civic Lede, an official publication of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., and has been reprinted with permission.  The Civic Lede spotlights notable developments in philanthropy, not-for-profits, women’s interests, voluntarism and leadership, and offers commentary on the issues on which The Junior League has been active for many years.

Last First Watch event is Thursday!

Our Last Junior League of Phoenix Partnership Event with First Watch is Thursday, June 9!

 

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If you’re looking for a fantastic way to support the Junior League of Phoenix (JLP) while eating some extremely tasty food, join us THIS Thursday at First Watch in Chandler!

JLP has been selected as the non-profit recipient of four pre-opening fundraisers hosted by First Watch, a popular breakfast, brunch and lunch eatery. To celebrate the opening of four new restaurants in the East Valley, First Watch will donate all money raised from its upcoming pre-opening events to JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen Program.

In keeping with First Watch’s concept of creating made-to-order meals using the freshest ingredients possible, JLP will use the donations to further its mission of “Building a Healthy Arizona,” which is focused on addressing food insecurity and the epidemic of childhood obesity in Maricopa County.

The events at First Watch will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the following dates. A $10 per person donation is suggested to benefit JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen program.

Location Details:

June 9 – First Watch, 4955 S. Alma School Rd. Ste.1, Chandler AZ, 85258

KITK makes a difference in the Valley in 2016!

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The Junior League of Phoenix helps to empower youth and families to adopt healthy habits and reverse the growth of childhood obesity in Maricopa County.

Kids in the Kitchen Program Goals:

• Increase children’s awareness of the nutrition in everyday foods
• Improve the quality of healthy food that kids eat by showing them easy and tasty ways to eat better
• Increase the amount of exercise that kids do during their daily routine

Our programs involve many exciting hands-on components to get kids and families involved in learning how to be healthy. Programming focuses on four components led by league and community volunteers:

Chef Presentation: Students will create simple, healthy snacks with chef presenters.

Eat This Not That: An instructional presentation helping students choose healthy alternatives at popular restaurants and fast food chains.

Food Plate: An instruction of the Food Plate (the successor of the Food Pyramid) and how much food one should eat from each category in relation to their plates.

Exercise: Participation in 45 minutes of low-key and fun exercises to promote an active lifestyle.

Kids also get to take home activity packets and recipes to continue their learning.

Learn more!

Join First Watch tomorrow to support the JLP!

Our Next Junior League of Phoenix Partnership Event with First Watch is Wednesday, May 25!

Support the Junior League of Phoenix and First Watch,  a popular breakfast, brunch and lunch eatery, for one of four pre-opening fundraisers. To celebrate the opening of four new restaurants in the East Valley, First Watch will donate all money raised from its upcoming pre-opening events to JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen Program.

In keeping with First Watch’s concept of creating made-to-order meals using the freshest ingredients possible, JLP will use the donations to further its mission of “Building a Healthy Arizona,” which is focused on addressing food insecurity and the epidemic of childhood obesity in Maricopa County.

The events at First Watch will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the following dates. A $10 per person donation is suggested to benefit JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen program.

The Upcoming Dates are as follows:

TOMORROW May 25 – First Watch, 1665 S. Dobson Rd., Mesa, AZ 85202

June 9 – First Watch, 4955 S. Alma School Rd. Ste.1, Chandler AZ, 85258

 

 

 

First Watch Helps to Build A Healthy Arizona

The Junior League of Phoenix (JLP) has been selected as the non-profit recipient of four pre-opening fundraisers hosted by First Watch, a popular breakfast, brunch and lunch eatery. To celebrate the opening of four new restaurants in the East Valley, First Watch will donate all money raised from its upcoming pre-opening events to JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen Program.

In keeping with First Watch’s concept of creating made-to-order meals using the freshest ingredients possible, JLP will use the donations to further its mission of “Building a Healthy Arizona,” which is focused on addressing food insecurity and the epidemic of childhood obesity in Maricopa County.

The events at First Watch will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the following dates. A $10 per person donation is suggested to benefit JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen program.

The Upcoming Dates are as follows:

May 18 – First Watch, 4910 W. Ray Rd. Ste. 5, Chandler, AZ 85226

May 25 – First Watch, 1665 S. Dobson Rd., Mesa, AZ 85202

June 9  – First Watch, 4955 S. Alma School Rd. Ste.1, Chandler AZ, 85258

 

JLP’S Jessica Eldridge Receives the AJLI Rising Star Award For 2016

In addition, the Junior League of Phoenix takes home two more awards for Vision and Community Impact.

Atlanta, GA– May 14, 2016 – The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. announced that Jessica Eldridge has received the 2016 Rising Star Award for her leadership in the Junior League of Phoenix and in the Phoenix community. Additionally, JLP won an Honorable Mention Vision Award for our work in the governance split and the Community Impact Award for Kids in the Kitchen.In total, the JLP was awarded nearly $15,000 with our three awards. The League was honored at AJLI’s 94th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

“I  have never gone to an annual conference where one League won three awards. Leave it to the JLP to break records and congratulations to the best members ever!” Anne Trauter, JLP President, said.

Rising Star: Jessica was especially recognized for her work in leveraging the JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen program by expanding its programming and reach in our community. She chaired the KITK program as a first-year Active in 2013 through 2015. Now a third-year Active, Jessica is currently double placed as Chair of Community Impact and a Provisional Advisor. She will serve as Provisional-Elect Chair for 2016-17.

The Rising Star Award is designed to recognize Active members whose early years as a Junior League member demonstrate significant promise consistent with the Vision and Values of The Junior League’s Mission. Jessica is one of two Rising Stars from among 292 independent Junior Leagues in four countries and more than 155,000 members.

“We are so excited and proud for Jessica, and we are honored that we have a Rising Star in our midst!” JLP President Anne Trauter said. “She is a great example of a member who jumped right in by saying yes to leadership and giving the community and our League the benefits of her talents and commitment.”

Vision Award (Honorable Mention): The Junior League of Phoenix was recognized for our outstanding effort in the split of our governance structure to a strategic Board of Directors and a management/operations team. JLP was one of the first Leagues to successfully implement such a structure in demonstrating this vision that has become a model for other Leagues throughout the Association.

Community Impact:  The Junior League of Phoenix was recognized for our work with the Kids in the Kitchen community program. The AJLI Community Impact Award is sponsored by Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures and provides JLP with a $10,000 award to further the community program. This is the second time in three years that JLP has won the AJLI Community Impact Award (when we won in 2014 for ROCKETS).

R to L:  Brandi Hunt, Anne Trauter, Ayesha Simons (Colgate), Lara Lennaman, Jessica Eldridge, Cathy Comer, Kelly Kaysonepheth, and Ellen Rose (AJLI President) at the post awards celebration on May 14th at AJLI’s 94th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA

 

‘Kids in the Kitchen’ Community Program Awarded $20,000 Grant from General Mills

The Junior League of Phoenix (JLP) has announced that one of its signature community programs, “Kids in the Kitchen,” has been awarded a $20,000 grant from General Mills, one of the world’s leading food companies. The grant will enable JLP to host a Health and Nutrition Day in the fall of 2016, which will include educational food and fitness challenges for kids and families.

Current JLP programs are structured around the focus area of “Building a Healthy Arizona” in order to address food insecurity and the epidemic of childhood obesity. Founded by The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) in 2006, Kids in the Kitchen is a hands-on initiative aimed at educating children and their families on the importance of nutrition and fitness to empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices.

“We are excited to plan a comprehensive day of playful learning with the help from this generous grant,” said Audrey Tregaskes, chair of JLP’s Kids in the Kitchen committee. “We have a big job of ‘Building a Healthy Arizona,’ and having this level of support enables us to reach more children and make a bigger impact.”

The goals for the Kids in the Kitchen program include increasing children’s awareness of nutrition in everyday foods, educating kids on how to improve the quality of food they eat, and incorporating more exercise into children’s daily routines. JLP volunteers teach the program throughout the year, which is based on four core activities about nutrition and exercise that were created in partnership with the Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions.

In 2014-15 alone, JLP educated more than 1,200 Kids in the Kitchen participants. The JLP currently partners with the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, offering Kids in the Kitchen activities to third, fourth and fifth graders across more than 10 branches.