Kids in the Kitchen is committed to empowering youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and helping reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues. As a project of the Junior League of Minneapolis, we are a member league of the national Kids in the Kitchen initiative supported by The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. To date the national Kids in the Kitchen program has served millions of people with messages about issues surrounding childhood obesity and our efforts to address them.
Program Initiatives
Kids in the Kitchen creates events that provide fun, health-related activities, age-appropriate nutritional information, food preparation, and take-home information that the children can use and share with their family. Children will be involved in demonstrations and lessons on how to select and prepare healthy, affordable meals and snacks.
The Kids in the Kitchen program is excited to announce that they will be conducting the following in 2010-2011:
- Year-Long Event Series: We will partner with different children’s community organizations around Minneapolis to host educational events throughout the year.
- One Large Community Event: We will host one large-scale community event with the goal of reaching hundreds of Minneapolis residents and spreading the word about the importance of healthy eating.
Childhood Obesity: Why worry?
- Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Today nearly 1 in 5 American childeren age 6-19 are obese (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion).
- Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5-to-17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion).
- Obese children are 5.5 times more likely to have an impaired quality of life than healthy kids, putting thier life experience on par with that of kids undergoing chemotherapy treatmetn for cancer. (Journal of American Medical Association, 2006).
Contact Information
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, volunteer, or partner of Kids in the Kitchen, please contact us at kidsinthekitchen@jlminneapolis.org.
To learn more about the national Kids in the Kitchen initiative by The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc., click here.
