ACFEF Chef & Child Foundation Chair’s Message

Dear Fellow Members:

Our Mission: “To educate children and families in understanding proper nutrition through community-based initiatives led by the American Culinary Federation chef members, and to be the voice of the culinary industry in it’s fight against childhood hunger, malnutrition and obesity.”

We are living in a very exciting world right now. All around us, we are experiencing vast changes demanded by a sagging economy, mother nature in crisis, world-wide political tension, and international health epidemics with childhood obesity and poor health on the rise. So yes, it is also a very scary time as well. But because it is scary, it has forced the hand of each one of us to recognize that we have to be part of the spirit of change. Grassroots efforts have never been so important to the general welfare and future of our population and our earth. The Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) is the grassroots arm of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), and we would love to have you join in to make a difference for the next generation and for the world.

The Chef & Child Foundation committee is working diligently to provide nutrition education for the chef and to provide educational materials and programs to assist chefs and communities to educate the young on proper nutrition. In 2009, we initiated a partnership with Clemson University to underwrite nutrition research and to provide free nutrition-focused articles for chefs and culinarians. The CCF is also bringing in nutrition experts from around the country for seminars at the American Culinary Federation regional conferences and underwriting the nutrition refresher course in a new segmented format for the ACF regional conferences. “What You Eat, It’s Up to You,” a fun DVD to teach kids about nutrition, was created by Tom Yanisko and is now available through the CCF for sale at a very reasonable price in the ACF store. Jean Hull, Brad Everett and I have updated and edited “That’s Fresh Kids cooking teams,” written by Brad Everett and David Wasson, in a new downloadable format with more nutrition information available in the near future on the Chef and Child website. The new title will be “Fresh Cooking is for kids.” There will also be recipes of the month available online from the Chef and Child cookbook “You Can Cook,” collaborated by Vince Blancato. The recipes feature favorites from a wide assortment of ACF chefs including Joe Amendola. Jim Perko, long time Chef and Child board member, who works at the Cleveland clinic with Oprah’s personality chef and best-selling author Dr. Michael Roizen and head of pediatrics Dr. Ellen Rome, has authored “Food is Knowledge.” This program, which is presented through the school system to teach kids about nutrition and good food, has undergone rigorous tests through the Cleveland clinic and is now ready for release in other cities and states.

The Chef & Child Foundation is developing new partnerships and solidifying current partnerships with organizations that reflect the same goals. We will be posting those links on our website to assist in spreading the word about the wonderful activities that are currently happening to help turn the tide for childhood nutrition. There are wonderful resources available through all of their Websites and it is enlightening and exciting to see what others are doing to make a difference. Check out the Ann Cooper blog sometime or the websites for “Two Angry Moms and Dr. Shawn Talbott." I guarantee you will be enlightened.

For the Chef & Child Foundation to be truely effective, each of you must embrace our cause and be proactive in your communities. In our world today, we are experiencing sweeping changes that will alter forever the landscape and population of our beautiful planet. The children around us are the key ingredient to balancing our civilization as we proceed. Please help them succeed by participating at a grassroots level and teach them the importance of balanced eating and health.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Mikesell, CEC, AAC
Chairwoman
American Culinary Federation
Chef & Child Foundation