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Health & Fitness

TEENS LEARN TO PREPARE FAMILY MEALS

Summer...time for kids to prepare for a healthy future

TEENS LEARN TO PREPARE FAMILY MEALS

Imagine exhausted parents arriving home from work this summer to a nutritious meal competently prepared by their child … their child who has also learned about eating healthy, staying fit and communicating well.  Fit2cook4Kids prepares 11- to 15-year old students to do just that!

Now in its third year, Fit2cook4Kids teaches children valuable life lessons by uniquely combining social and professional etiquette training with culinary skills and fitness education, under the direction of trained professionals.  This program is powerful.  You can see the enthusiasm on the faces of campers in the videos we’ve posted on our website. 

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I founded Food and Truth, the nonprofit organization that created Fit2cook4Kids  summer camp as part of a model program being developed in Rhode Island as a solution to the catastrophic epidemic of childhood obesity.  The first camp was launched in 2010 at the Independence Square Foundation on the URI campus in Kingston, RI. 

This summer camps will be held in North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Jamestown, Cranston and Greenville.  Programs will run for eight weeks starting July 2nd through August 24th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.  Sessions are limited to 14 students.

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Tuition is $9.75 per hour for a 40 hour week ($390/week), plus a one-time only registration fee of $20.00.  Tuition includes a healthy breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack that the campers prepare under the supervision of a professional chef. Parents have the option of funding a tuition rebate of $120 (or whatever amount they wish) which is given to their child on the last day of camp as a reward for productive attendance. This incentive is part of the financial literacy training the campers receive. Campers learn the difference between checking, savings, credit and debit accounts, and are asked to plan a budget based on an income of $120 per week.

My intention is to replicate Fit2cook4Kids camps at various host facilities across Rhode Island and train individuals who have access to kitchen, fitness and computer facilities to run their own Fit2cook4Kids camps. It would be great to have a camp in East Providence in 2013.  More information can be found at on our website,  or you can contact me by phone 401-294-6800 or email karen@foodandtruth.org.

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