Pilot Light Launches First-Ever Free Online Library For K-12 Grade Food Education Lesson Plans

Chicago, IL /PRNewswire/ - Pilot Light released today the first-ever online Food Education Center, designed to provide food education lessons and resources to K-12 grade teachers and educators for use within classrooms.

Pilot Light's Food Education Center provides a user-friendly one-stop resource for K-12 grade lesson plans that integrate food education into the classroom. Lesson plans are aligned with Common Core State Standards for education while integrating food education within the lesson.

In addition to providing free lesson plans, the Food Education Center also hosts Pilot Light's Food Education Standards, the first-ever nationwide set of recommendations for food education for K-12 students. The Food Education Standards were developed in collaboration with notable Chicago chefs Paul Kahan (One Off Hospitality), Matthias Merges (Folk Art Management), and Jason Hammel (Lula Café and Marisol), as well as nutrition and education experts and faculty from the University of Chicago, Columbia University, the United States Department of Agriculture and a teacher development team comprising Chicago Public Schools faculty.

New lesson plans will be added to the Food Education Center on a regular basis to provide teachers and educators new, engaging lessons for their students. Fellows of Pilot Light's Food Education Fellowship will contribute to the creation of lesson plans for the Food Education Center. Through the Food Education Fellowship, fellows provide weekly food education in their classrooms, incorporating food as a lens for traditional subjects, such as Mathematics, English, Language Arts, Social Studies & History, and Science. Through the Food Education Fellowship, fellows write and test new lesson plans within their classrooms.

"As educators, we are responsible for providing an environment that maximizes student development and achievement," said Bill Hook, principal at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and contributor to the Food Education Standards. "According to the USDA, nutritional status directly affects the mental capacity of school-aged children. Students who know how to make healthier food choices will reap the benefits, leading to fewer absences, more on-task behavior in class, and higher exam scores."

The Food Education Center and lesson plans are free to access. In addition to lesson plans, users will find the Food Education Standards, information on the Pilot Light Food Advocacy Projects and a calendar of upcoming events and free teacher professional development days offered by Pilot Light. Visit the Food Education Center at foodedu.pilotlightchefs.org.

Pilot Light is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps children make healthier choices by connecting the lessons they learn in their classrooms to the foods they eat on their lunch trays, at home, and in their communities. Learn more about Pilot Light at PilotLightChefs.org.