FoodCorps
Model & Strategy
FoodCorps is a national service organization that provides a scalable response to America’s painful and costly epidemic of childhood obesity. Working under the direction of high-impact local partners, FoodCorps Service Members invest a year of full-time public service delivering nutrition education, cultivating school gardens and sourcing farm-fresh school meals for K-12 students in communities of need across the country.
FoodCorps offers a means for training a new generation of leaders in the fields of food, education and health, and a mechanism for building connections and capacity among the diverse organizations that advocate for a more just, healthful and sustainable food system. 1 in 5 FoodCorps alumni are hired by their school or service site for a long-term position.
Curt Ellis began working with the five other founders of FoodCorps in 2009. With colleagues Debra Eschmeyer, Cecily Upton, Crissie McMullan, Jerusha Klemperer and Ian Cheney, Curt led an 18-month planning process that engaged more than 10,000 stakeholders in developing the FoodCorps model. Rather than being designed from the top down, their school food solution emerged from the grassroots up: a national organization that local voices shaped according to their needs.
Curt’s passion for food and agriculture is rooted in his childhood in Oregon. He developed his interest at The Mountain School and Yale and then moved to Iowa to investigate the role of subsidized commodities in the American obesity epidemic. The film he co-created there, King Corn, won a George Foster Peabody Award, helped bring national press attention to the Farm Bill, and reached an audience of millions in theatres and on PBS. Curt also produced The Greening of Southie (Sundance Channel, 2008) and used his Food and Community Fellowship to launch the mobile school garden project, Truck Farm, and direct the sequel to King Corn, Big River (Discovery, 2010).
IMPACT
In the last school year, FoodCorps educated 177,879 children, added 664 new recipes or ingredients to school lunch menus, supported 828 school gardens, and engaged 8,079 community volunteers in improving school food.
After 10+ hours of hands on classroom learning with a FoodCorps service member, 7 in 10 students will improve their attitude towards vegetables, try new ones, or maintain their high regard for them if they already liked them.
FoodCorps News
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FoodCorps Featured in Fast Company for Their Success in Winning Over KidsFoodCorps was featured in Fast Company for their work winning over a pretty tough crowd, kids. FoodCorps sends young service members into schools in disadvantaged…Mar 2016 -
FoodCorps' Debra Eschmeyer Selected to Lead First Lady Michelle Obama's Food WorkDebra “Deb” Eschmeyer, a leading nutrition and local food advocate, has replaced Sam Kass as executive director of Let’s Move! and senior policy advisor for…Jan 2015
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"'Parents love the fact that there are fresh vegetables at each one of the schools,' says Sharon Davenport." Via… https://t.co/9NyHwq07Lv
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RT @CenterOnBudget: The House just passed the #2018FarmBill which includes cuts and changes to SNAP that would eliminate or reduce food ass…
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This is a moment when FoodCorps must speak up for our values and affirm our deep commitment to a future where every… https://t.co/TQAwZhhcYn
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"In Montana, some of the gaps in FCS education are being filled by organizations like FoodCorps, which teach studen… https://t.co/4trtScIid8
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Evidence shows that tasting and cooking fresh fruits and vegetables can increase consumption of these #healthyfoods… https://t.co/DdE0wM8FP1
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“#Juneteenth today is a collective thank-you to a people who made a way out of no way.” How are you celebrating… https://t.co/qyqES5N0BN
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Apply Now: @USDA grants are available for initiatives that deliver hands-on nutrition and food education, promote… https://t.co/2151v6lgQh
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FoodCorps alumna Lauren Rhoades now makes kimchi and kombucha—and made it to the top 20 of the @Southern_Living Foo… https://t.co/O7zpukKQFL
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"There's great wisdom in our ancestral food," says Cheema. "There's a lot of nutritionists and clean-eating blogger… https://t.co/uva9cnZnUO
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By inviting a local farmer to school, FoodCorps #AmeriCorps service member Becca is helping kids make the connectio… https://t.co/ruvXZhfjWL
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A new scorecard ranks states on "the sustainability of their farms, impacts on the surrounding environment, and the… https://t.co/yKboV4lGB2
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Every month, we publish policy briefs to share the latest news in food and national service policy. In June, we've… https://t.co/WThcJBHke9
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RT @JOWPTA: An amazing @JOWilsonDC Garden Day! Riding a smoothie bike, building seed bombs, and more! Thank you @kidpowerdc and @FoodCorps…
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"If you expose kids enough times to different flavors — including sour, bitter and even spicy ones, but don't force… https://t.co/W5uPmdb97A
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On June 22, the House is expected to vote again on the #farmbill. If passed as-is, some schools would lose access t… https://t.co/xo8zAEtwz4
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RT @afrociclismo: soooo proud of fellow .@FoodCorps alum Amarilys Olivo for the work she's doing in #Newark and being awarded the FoodCorps…
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FoodCorps is honored to present Amarilys with this year's Alumni Service Leadership Award! After her service, Amari… https://t.co/8OlbUktTAx
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"We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the Garden Grant Program," says Nona Evans, ED of @WholeKidsFnd. "It's s… https://t.co/D2y0PeFoEA
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Oxnard, CA is know for its strawberries, but local kids don't always get to see how they're grown. With support fro… https://t.co/adXYsuhIAg
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RT @DSMcAuliffe: Always inspired by @r1taylor and our national partners working to improve access to quality food for our children. “School…