Print | Close
By Nadja PopovichCan the popular startup make a dent in nutrition education? One school finds it more difficult thanexpected.
Crowdfunding Nutrition: Using Kickstarter to Make Kids Healthier - Health - The Atlantichttp://www.theatlantic.com/health/print/2012/06/crowdfunding-nutrition-using-kickstarter-to-ma...1 of 66/15/2012 9:38 AM
Kristy McCarron/KickstarterChildhood nutrition and anti-obesity campaigns are a hot topic these days. Gardens and cookingclasses are in demand in schools around the country.But how much would you, personally, be willing to shell out of pocket to help our nation's kids eathealthier? In a time of tight purse strings, several schools are asking that question with the help of thepopular crowd-funding site, Kickstarter."My name is Kristy McCarron, and this is where I spend my day off," a young woman's voice tells us inthe intro video of one Kickstarter campaign. She's referring to a classroom at Walker Jones elementary school in Washington, D.C., where she teaches kids about food -- where it comes from, why it's goodfor them, and how to cook it, too.McCarron is now trying to raise $25,000 to help build a "food lab" kitchen at the school, which she would run as a full-time teacher.
Crowdfunding Nutrition: Using Kickstarter to Make Kids Healthier - Health - The Atlantichttp://www.theatlantic.com/health/print/2012/06/crowdfunding-nutrition-using-kickstarter-to-ma...2 of 66/15/2012 9:38 AM
While many of us may think of Kickstarter as a place where tech-savvy 20-somethings raise money tomake the newest iPhone accessory, McCarron says it was a perfect fit for her school, too."I kind of just took a big leap of faith and quit my job and started this fundraising pitch," she says,confessing that she hadn't even heard of Kickstarter until a friend turned her onto it for this project.McCarron has spent the past 8 months volunteering as a part-time nutrition instructor at WalkerJones, which is a historically African American, title-one high poverty school where
100 percent
of thestudents receive free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She worked nights as a chef at Nora, a well-known,upscale organic restaurant in downtown D.C. A lot of excitement has surrounded her classes, from kids and parents alike, she says, though she hadto get creative with the classes for lack of equipment."For most of my time here so far, we didn't have a working stove or a working oven. The projects wedid were almost entirely raw -- a lot of raw fruits and veggies, which is kind of hard in the winter," sheexplains. "I brought in a burner oven from work once to help out, but that's really all the equipment wehad."She had students make raw kale salads and healthy granola bars -- both big hits. The kids comparedthe fat content in different milks, too, and during one opportunity when a local Whole Foods donated a batch of shrimp, the students made ceviche, which gave them a chance to learn about the effects of citric acid.But now, McCarron wants to make a bigger impact, and what she needs is a stove, for starters. As broken down on the Kickstarter page, the $25,000 McCarron seeks to raise with Walker Jones would go toward cooking supplies (i.e. food), equipment (induction burners, utensils, and the like),and personnel (McCarron's stipend).*** Walker Jones is not the first school to turn to Kickstarter for funding a nutrition program, and itprobably won't be the last. But the results so far have been mixed.
Crowdfunding Nutrition: Using Kickstarter to Make Kids Healthier - Health - The Atlantichttp://www.theatlantic.com/health/print/2012/06/crowdfunding-nutrition-using-kickstarter-to-ma...3 of 66/15/2012 9:38 AM
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Crowdfunding Nutrition: Using Kickstarter to Make Kids Healthier
72
Reads
0
Readcasts
47
Embed Views
More From This User
Notes
Load more
