Adam Aronovitz
Adam Aronovitz is the Co-Founder and Director of The Cookbook Project. Adam earned his BA in Political Economy at Tulane University, his MA in International Relations at the University of Westminster in London and is a Food Education Scholar and certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Adam has been an educator for 18 years with a great deal of experience in the traditional classroom and enrichment settings. As a leader in experiential education he spent 7 seasons leading international service-learning programs with high school students, and 4 years as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools where he witnessed the disruptive health and cognitive toll of a highly processed diet on his students.

Alissa Bilfield
Alissa Bilfield is the Co-founder of The Cookbook Project. She received her BA from Vanderbilt University in Political Science, her MSc from The London School of Economics in Environment and Development, and she is currently pursuing her PhD in Public Health at Tulane University. She is an environmental planner with 14 years of experience working in the non-profit and government sectors. While working at the government level, she became involved in the green building and food justice movements, and shifted her focus to sustainable community health issues. She is also a Food Education Scholar and certified Health Counselor from the Institute for integrative Nutrition in addition to being a community-based cooking educator.

opportunity/Challenge

87% of New Orleans’ youth qualify for free or reduced lunch, but data shows that kids are leaving the healthiest parts of their meals untouched on their plates. With the right tools and culturally-relevant curriculum, kids can make healthier food choices, increase their cooking skills, and expand their palates.

impaCt

• 175+ Food Literacy Educators trained to teach healthy cooking skills and nutrition education to youth.
• 95% of kids tried a new healthy food, and 94% of kids who learned a new cooking skill practiced it at home in the New Orleans pilot program.
• 7,500 youth have received food literacy and cooking education