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“End the Cycle of Hunger & Poverty”

What We Do

Photo by Keisha Register

We established the Food for Thought Learning Institute to teach vulnerable members of the Oklahoma City Metro Area basic food preparation, to help them overcome the cycle of  hunger and poverty in Oklahoma:

• Basic kitchen safety
• Preparing delicious food
• Nutritional knowledge
• Smart shopping techniques

We are currently setting up our first teaching kitchen facility in Norman. If your organization has even a basic kitchen, the Institute can come to you.

Our future plans include the expansion of this program to encompass poverty-stricken areas throughout the U.S. to end hunger, ultimately rendering programs like this obsolete.

How You Can Help

The Food for Thought Learning Institute runs entirely on your donations.¹ We currently need:

• New or gently-used kitchen items (e.g., cutting boards, colanders, strainers, pots & pans, etc.)
• Appliances (e.g., refrigeration)
• Funding
• Volunteers

Accomplishments (So Far …)

Instructional chef Karen Sonntag demonstrates a frittata at Food and Shelter Inc.

Photo by Keisha Register

Our 1^st Class

We taught our 1^st class at Food and Shelter Inc., in which we taught 8 single parents to make quick, healthy, delicious meals. We sourced most ingredients from the Food and Shelter Inc. pantry.

Partnership with Bridges

We partnered with the Norman non-profit program, Bridges, to teach 2 classes as part of their life skills program. Students learned by doing: chopping vegetables, sautéeing, and even hand-rolling fresh, made-from-scratch pasta.

Partnership with Center for Children & Families

We partnered with the Center for Children & Families to teach a class for 4^th- and 5^th-grade boys. We taught the boys basic kitchen tool techniques. Children in this challenging age group are frequently left “in charge” at home, boosting the need for meal preparation skills.

Our 1^st Grant!

The Norman Communities Foundation awarded us our 1^st grant in March, 2011. The $500 grant will help us to purchase equipment and supplies for our next round of classes.

Kids’ Camp

Planet Reaves Kids Camp, a 10-week program for children ages 5 – 10. Stutents learned about healthy and fun snack preparation.

YMCA

We taught an elective class at ymca Camp Classen (Davis, Oklahoma). We taught separate classes for 8 – 12-year olds and camp councilors.

We are in discussions with the YMCA of Oklahoma City to become a permanent fixture of their program.

Board of Directors

• Matt Joplin, Director
• Karen Sonntag, Associate Director
• JoAnna Wall, Treasurer
• Amy Radford, Secretary