Making Sweet Potato Quesadillas with the Mayor — Kimball Elementary Students show Mayor Bowser what they’re learning in FoodPrints

With beaming smiles and contagious energy, 15 Kimball elementary students welcomed Mayor Bowser and Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant into their FoodPrints classroom last week. The students were so excited to showcase their favorite recipes and lessons, and the FoodPrints team and Kimball community were honored to share such an important program with their esteemed guests.

To kick off the event, Ms. Latoya Locke, Kimball Assistant Teacher and parent, and her daughter, Toria, a 4th grader at Kimball,  introduced the Mayor. Toria shared, “In FoodPrints, I have learned so much I didn’t know before. I love sharing what I learn with my family,” and her mom added, “We love getting the ingredients from the store and then cooking together. This has been our bonding time.” Our 15 amazing Kimball students then took the Mayor and Dr. Grant on a tour of some of their favorite FoodPrints recipes and lessons to demonstrate how food, cooking, and gardening fit into the DC Public Schools curriculum and improve the students’ health and wellbeing.

Mayor Bowser and Dr. Grant joined in the learning and joy as they traveled from station to station:

• First, FoodPrints students showed how to cook Sweet Potato Quesadillas and Colorful Kale Salad.
• Next, the students explained the importance of eating whole grains and demonstrated the difference between whole and refined grains by grinding wheat berries into whole wheat flour.
• The students also taught their guests how to make corn tortillas by hand using a tortilla press.
• The Mayor and the Superintendent went “shopping” for autumn apples at a mini farmers market set-up by the students
• Students then explained that we eat different parts of different plants and helped show how to sort plants by plant part.
• Finally, the Mayor and Superintendent went outside to the school garden

  

  with the students to plant seedlings and harvest sweet potatoes. Dr. Grant was having so much fun harvesting sweet potatoes alongside the kids – everyone was cheering each time they dug up a potato!

Each and every station that the students led connected to a lesson from the FoodPrints Curriculum, which is aligned with DCPS Scope & Sequence and engages students in joyful, hands-on food education. After experiencing FoodPrints first-hand, the Mayor Bowser said “This FoodPrints education program is a model for our nation.”

Thank you to our Kimball hosts, Mayor Bowser, and Dr. Grant for a fantastic visit!