Chapter Activity

Our mission statement is “To educate children and families in understanding proper nutrition through community-based initiatives led by American Culinary Federation chef members, and to be the voice of the culinary industry in its fight against childhood hunger, malnutrition and obesity.” There are several ways to get involved in this goal explained in our chapter handbook (1.86 MB).

Chapter Involvement

The support of ACF chapters is needed to accomplish the goals and projects we have set in motion for CCF. Please get involved in your community. You can use one of the programs we have available online or create your own. Most importantly, if you are doing a fundraiser for a charity in your area, please register the recipient with the Chef & Child Foundation through the national office. This will allow donors to receive a tax break and protect your chapter from breaking tax laws. The ACFEF Chef & Child Foundation will then disburse 80% of the money to the recipient of your choice. The other 20% goes to pay for the programs, research and education provided by the Chef & Child Foundation. If you wish to give the CCF a straight donation, we would be very appreciative.

• Fundraising Form

Childhood Nutrition Day 2011

Around Oct. 16, several ACF chapters held awareness events in their local community, spreading the word about proper nutrition to fight childhood hunger, malnutrition and obesity. We want to share these great activities with our members. If you held an event supporting Childhood Nutrition Day, email your story with photos to chefandchild@acfchefs.net. Here’s a look at what other chapters did.

Proclamations

Proclamations were made in both Santa Ana, Calif., and Palm Beach County, Fla. Many thanks to the ACF Orange Empire Chefs & Professional Cooks Association and ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc.

Hit a Breakfast Homerun for Nutrition

ACF Kona-Kohala Chefs Association celebrated by hosting a “Hit a Homerun for Nutrition” breakfast event, followed by three terrific workshops throughout the day on “Discover the connections between nutrition, science, math and cooking.”

Chefs Outreach to Indianapolis

ACF Greater Indianapolis Chapter partnered with the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and Indiana University Health to present the Chefs Outreach to the Community program. The event was extremely successful, with interest from the participants to implement CCF programs in their schools as well.

Tucson Meet Yourself Iron Chef

ACF Chefs Association of Southern Arizona Tucson held their annual healthy iron chef competition to recognize Childhood Nutrition Day. The meals for the high school and college competitions were judged on nutritional content, as well as presentation, taste, texture and reflection of cultural theme.

Simple Cooking with Heart

ACF Orange Empire Chefs and Professional Cooks Association did a Simple Cooking with Heart demonstration at a Latino Health Fair to encourage Americans to cook low-cost, heart-healthy meals at home. This program by the AHA, in collaboration with The Walmart Foundation, gives families the tools, basic skills and techniques to get started. Chef Ramirez shared some of the recipes during the event.

Healthy Snack Alternative Booth

Maumee Valley Chef’s Association raised over $300 in cash and food donations for Feed Lucas Children, a privately-funded organization that provides healthy, nutritious meals for at-risk children. During a local event, chef volunteers staffed a booth offering fruit kebobs and granola as an alternative to other snack foods.

Cooking Up Good Nutrition

ACF Greater Buffalo Chapter is partnering for a second year in a day of cooking and nutritional education with local school children. Students will work alongside the chefs learning cooking techniques and nutrition tips. The chefs will lead children in a fun menu that includes healthy vegetarian lettuce wraps and fresh fruit smoothie recipes the students can recreate at home.

CCF Local Activity

Chef & Child: Healthy Cooking, Eating!

View this great documentary about implementing Chef & Child programs in a local community by Executive Chef Paul Stroup of ACF Heart of Illinois Professional Chefs Association. Hear from children about how the program has changed their lives.

ACF Capital District–Central New York
Master Degree of Healthy Snacks

Members from the ACF Capital District–Central New York recently went to Pashley Elementary School in Glenville, N.Y., where they taught students how to “cover the bases” for nutrition. Children were encouraged to go between three bases and learn to make healthy snacks. First base was a healthy tropical fruit juice blend, second base was fruit kabobs with a non-fat coconut yogurt dip, third base was a healthy tropical snack mix replacing nuts with shredded wheat cereal and adding flaked coconut and tropical dried fruit. The kids finally rounded the bases to home plate where they received a “Master Degree of Healthy Snacks.”

ACF Heart of Illinois Professional Chefs Association
That’s Fresh Cooking Classes

Paul Stroup, chapter president, and members of the ACF Heart of Illinois Professional Chefs Association, successfully implemented the CCF program “That’s Fresh - Kids Cooking Teams” into their community. Part of the culinary experience included a field trip to the local farmers market to pick out fresh ingredients for the recipes. “It was an eye opening experience for the kids and accompanying adults.” Read the full story on Jamie Oliver’s website.

Chef & Child Programs

Need an idea for an awareness activity to implement in your community? Check out our Programs section.

Let Us Know

Please e-mail us to let us know what type of awareness you generated in your community. Please include any details or photos that we can feature on the website to show the impact of the activities.

Chapter Recognition

CCF honors and recognizes chapters and individuals annually who showcase our mission by presenting them with awards. The deadline for award applications is June 15. For more information, go to the Awards section.